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St. Norbert Shoots Down Defending National Champion in Overtime

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, December 17, 2019 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College got a pair of free throws from junior forward Nolan Beirne with 2.8 seconds left in overtime for the decisive points in a pulsating 96-95 win over defending NCAA Division III national champion UW-Oshkosh in a non-conference game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

Beirne secured an offensive rebound and was fouled in the double bonus with the Green Knights trailing 95-94. Beirne made his first free throw and Oshkosh called timeout, but he then drained the second to give St. Norbert the lead. Oshkosh was out of timeouts and inbounded to standout Adam Fravert, who was pressured and lost the ball out of bounds in the front court as time expired.

St. Norbert trailed 82-74 with 1:52 to go in regulation but charged back with a furious rally, forcing overtime on Michael Payant's 3-pointer with 0.1 seconds remaining. Joe Ciriacks made a 3-pointer to get the Green Knights to within 82-77 with 1:38 left. Oshkosh's Will Mahoney made two free throws with 1:32 left, but Jared Murphy canned a 3-pointer with 1:18 to go to cut it to 84-80. Fravert then split a pair of free throws for an 85-80 lead with 1:02 to go. Payant then put in an offensive rebound with 47 seconds left to cut the deficit to three. St. Norbert then played defense and forced Mahoney to miss with 18 seconds left. Payant then canned a triple from the right wing to force overtime.

In overtime, Oshkosh took three three-point leads but St. Norbert rallied from a 92-89 deficit with a hoop by Connor Curtis with 1:15 left and a conventional three-point play from Curtis with 25 seconds left for a 94-92 lead. The Titans responded again with a conventional three-point play by Mahoney with 14 seconds left in overtime. St. Norbert then missed a jumper but Beirne was fouled on the miss leading to the game's final moments.

St. Norbert and Oshkosh battled from the very beginning with eight ties in the first half. The Titans took a pair of six-point leads in the first half before settling on a 47-43 halftime lead.

Oshkosh held its lead throughout most of the second half, taking a 65-55 lead with 10:40 to go. St. Norbert then went on a 15-3 run over the next 3:37 to take a 70-68 lead on Joe Ciriacks' 3-pointer with 7:03 to go. The Titans came again, going on a 12-2 run over the next 3:09 to take an 80-72 lead with 3:54 left, leading to the game's tense final moments.

St. Norbert shot 48.7 percent from the floor, making 37-for-76 field-goal attempts. The Green Knights, who had just seven turnovers, were 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) on three-point field goals and 12-for-15 (80 percent) from the free-throw line. Curtis finished with a game-high 28 points and nine rebounds. Ciriacks added 26 points, while Beirne and Murphy had 10 points apiece. Payant finished with nine points and eight rebounds.

Oshkosh shot 45.5 percent from the floor, making 30 of 66 field-goal attempts. The Titans were 13-for-31 (34.5 percent) from beyond the three-point arc and 22-for-27 (81.5 percent) at the free-throw line. Mahoney had a team-high 20 points, while Fravert added 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jack Flynn added 19 points for Oshkosh.

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