Green Knights Surge Past Ripon

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, December 8, 2018 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College overcame a 12-point first-half deficit and went on to claim a 66-58 win over Ripon College in a Midwest Conference game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights (5-2, 4-0 MWC) extended their winning streak to four games and will head into the holiday break tied atop the MWC with Grinnell College.

St. Norbert found itself trailing 23-11 with 9:29 left in the first half after Ripon went on an 18-5 run over an 8-minute stretch. The Green Knights countered with an 11-0 run of their won to get back into the game. Connor Curtis and Joe Lemon each had four points during the run, while Jared Murphy had a conventional three-point play to put St. Norbert within 23-22 with 3:35 left in the half. A Curtis hoop with 47 seconds left before halftime sent the game into intermission tied 29-29.

In the second half, St. Norbert wouldn't lead by more than five points until the final moments, while Ripon couldn't get a lead larger than two points. Trent Jones' 3-pointer with 6:58 remaining gave Ripon its last lead at 51-50. Curtis and Murphy had consecutive jumpers for a 54-51 lead with 5:32 left. Ripon later cut it to one at 56-55 with 4:31 to go, but Murphy canned another tough shot in the paint for a 58-55 edge with 4:05 left.

Ripon's Cal Schultz split a pair of free throws with 3:09 left, with neither team scoring until Murphy's basket put St. Norbert up 50-56 with 2:04 to go. A pair of Curtis free throws with 55 seconds left put the Green Knights up by six, and they were never seriously threatened the rest of the game.

Curtis led St. Norbert with 21 points and 10 rebounds, while Murphy came off the bench to add 15 points. Joe Ciriacks had 12 points, while Lemon added 11 points and nine rebounds. The Green Knights shot 41.8 percent (23-for-55) from the floor and held a 37-28 rebounding advantage.

Ripon shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the floor. Jones led the Red Hawks with 18 points, while Schultz and Kule Rutkowski had 11 points apiece.