Big Run Lifts St. Norbert Past Northland

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, November 23, 2019 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College closed the first half on a 26-2 run and used that as the impetus behind a 97-57 win over Northland College in a non-conference game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights (1-2) were knotted with the Lumberjacks at 26-26 with 6:45 left in the first half but the host scored on 11 of their last 13 possessions to pull away. Joe Ciriacks' 3-pointer at the 6:28 mark got the run started, followed by a Connor Curtis dunk. Curtis then added a conventional three-point play and Ciriacks added another hoop for a 36-26 lead with 5:12 left.

Following a pair of Northland free throws with 4:06 left, Jared Murphy and Ciriacks canned 3-pointers to extend the lead to 42-28. Wade Geenen, Curtis, Jared Murphy, Jack Pettit and Nolan Beirne all had a hoop apiece as St. Norbert took a 52-28 lead into halftime.

Curtis had a basket to open the second half, but Northland answered with a 3-pointer by Max May. St. Norbert then scored the next nine points to salt the game away and cap off an overall 37-5 run.

St. Norbert shot 55.1 percent (38-for-69) from the floor and outrebounded the smaller Lumberjacks 46-28. Ciriacks, who was 7-for-9 from beyond the three-point arc, finished with 25 points. Curtis also added 25 points, going 8-for-11 from the floor and 9-for-11 at the free-throw line. Beirne chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Northland shot 32.1 percent (18-for-56) from the floor. Benny Larry paced the Lumberjacks with 19 points, while George Butvilas added 11 points.