Big Second Half Pushes St. Norbert Past Beloit

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, January 15, 2020 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

BELOIT - St. Norbert College outscored Beloit College by 28 points in the last 23 minutes of the game as the Green Knights went on to a 72-55 win over the Buccaneers in a Midwest Conference game at Flood Arena.

The Green Knights (12-2, 7-0 MWC), ranked No. 25 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, won for the 12th consecutive time despite trailing by 11 points late in the first half.

St. Norbert trailed for most of the first half and hit its nadir when it trailed 32-21 with 3:15 left before halftime. But the Green Knights responded with a quick 10-0 run to get to within 32-31 before trailing 34-31 at halftime. Michael Payant started the run with a 3-pointer and finished it with a jumper, while Nolan Beirne added a hoop and Jared Murphy finished a conventional three-point play.

The Green Knights continued to stop Beloit while pulling away in the second half, opening the period with a 16-3 run for a total run of 26-5 after its largest deficit. Beloit's Darin Empereur hit a 3-pointer to get Beloit to within 40-37 with 17:01 to go, but the Green Knights scored the next 10 points to pull away. Jacob Bolwerk had a basket followed by a Payant hoop and two Murphy free throws. Murphy then added a basket of his won and Payant's two charity tosses put St. Norbert ahead 50-37 with 12:36 left. The Buccaneers wouldn't get closer than nine points the rest of the way.

St. Norbert shot a lusty 58 percent (29-for-50) from the floor, and was an enviable 64 percent (16-for-25) in the second half. Murphy came off the bench to lead the Green Knights with 16 points, while Joe Ciriacks chipped in with 14 points. Payant just missed a double-double, with 13 points and nine rebounds. Beirne finished with 12 points.

The Green Knights also held a commanding 36-13 rebounding margin, with 11 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second-chance points. The Buccaneers were held to no points on second-chance opportunities.

Beloit shot 43.1 percent (22-for-51) from the floor, cooling off after connecting on 13 of 23 (56.5 percent) field-goal attempts in the first half. Andrew Walters led the Buccaneers with 16 points, while Tristan Shoup added 14 points.