St. Norbert Runs Winning Streak to 10 With Win Over Blueboys

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, January 8, 2020 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College extended its winning streak to 10 games with a 96-67 win over Illinois College in a Midwest Conference game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights (10-2, 5-0 MWC) raced out to a 24-point lead late in the first half, only to see the Blueboys (4-8, 2-3) get to within 11 points in the second half. St. Norbert then regained control to improve to 7-0 at home this season.

St. Norbert trailed 5-3 in the very early stages before embarking on a 15-0 run to forge an 18-5 lead. Connor Curtis got the run started with a 3-pointer and finished it with an inside basket. Wade Geenen and Michael Payant also hit trifectas during the run, which gave the Green Knights a double-digit lead it would never relinquish.

Illinois College's Jake Mazrimas hit a 3-pointer with 7:15 left in the half to bring the Blueboys to within 33-19, but St. Norbert would go on a 17-7 run to open up a 50-26 edge on a conventional three-point play by Jacob Bolwerk with 2 minutes left in the half. Illinois College cut the deficit to 50-31 at halftime.

The Green Knights made just two field goals in the first 6 1/2 minutes of the second half, allowing Illinois College to creep to a 58-47 deficit after a pair of Tre Rogers free throws with 13:40 to go. Jared Murphy then converted a traditional three-point play, Payant was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line, and Joe Ciriacks scored to give St. Norbert a 67-50 lead with 11:35 left. The Blueboys trailed 74-57 with 9:07 to go before St. Norbert took the mystery out of the outcome with a 12-0 run, capped by a Geenen 3-pointer for an 86-57 lead with 5:31 to go.

St. Norbert shot 54.8 percent (34-for-62) from the floor. Murphy came off the bench to lead the Green Knights with 20 points and eight rebounds, both career highs. Ciriacks and Geenen had 13 points apiece, while Curtis added 12 points. Jack Pettit added a career-high nine points. The Green Knights held a 37-25 rebounding edge and committed just six turnovers.

Illinois College shot 48.1 percent (25-for-52) from the floor. Jaxson Dian led the Blueboys with 17 points, while Rogers added 12 points and Mazrimas 11.