Green Knights Hold Off Central

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, November 16, 2018 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

WAUKESHA - St. Norbert College picked up its first win of the season with a 76-68 win over Central College in the first game of the Carroll University Nicholas Investments Tip-Off Tournament at Van Male Fieldhouse.

The Green Knights (1-1) saw a double-digit lead cut to one point late, but held off the Dutch (0-2) with a pair of big 3-pointers down the stretch. St. Norbert will face No. 1-ranked and defending NCAA Division III national champion Nebraska Wesleyan University at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Connor Curtis' layup with 9:56 remaining put St. Norbert ahead 55-44, but Central would then go on a quick 8-0 run over the next three possessions to trim the deficit to 55-52 with 8:24 to go. St. Norbert would push the lead back to eight at 60-52 on a basket by Joe Lemon and a 3-pointer by Joe Ciriacks, but the Dutch would hang around.

St. Norbert led 67-61 with 3:08 to go but a basket and a conventional three-point play by Jaden Moody brought Central to within 67-66 with 2:42 to go. Jared Murphy canned a 3-pointer on the Green Knights' next possession for a four-point cushion. St. Norbert then forced a pair of Central turnovers, and Ciriacks drained a triple with 1:01 left to effectively decide the outcome.

The Green Knights never trailed, opening the game with a 3-pointer from Wade Geenen. Central would trail by one point five times in the first half, including a 20-19 St. Norbert lead with 7:44 left. The Green Knights went on a 12-2 run over the next 4:45, taking a 32-21 lead on Nolan Beirne's layup. Geenen and Murphy both had 3-pointers during the spurt. St. Norbert eventually settled on a 37-26 halftime lead.

St. Norbert shot 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the floor. Curtis led St. Norbert with 22 points, while Murphy added 13 points and Ciracks 12 points. Geenen had nine points, seven assists and three rebounds. Rebounds were even at 28-28.

Central shot 55.1 percent (27-for-49) from the floor, including 17-for-25 (68 percent) in the second half. Moody led the Dutch with 19 points and eight rebounds.