(ST NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) APPLETON – St. Norbert College rallied in the second half to grab a 68-62 win over Lawrence University, overcoming a long scoring drought and two large leads the Vikings grabbed early in the second half.
St. Norbert opened the game with a 7-3 start, before the game turned in favor of the Vikings. Lawrence was able to keep a small distance from the Green Knights after taking a 14-11 lead. St. Norbert would only be able to come within two points for the remainder of the half.
The Green Knights had a scoring drought in the first half as well, not being able to score any points for over four minutes. At the same time, St. Norbert only allowed one field goal in the final four minutes of the half. Lawrence held on to a two-point advantage, 28-26 going into the half.
Jamison Nickolai (pictured) led St. Norbert in the first half with six points and eight rebounds, as the Green Knights struggled with shooting at 29.6 percent and eight field goals made.
Things did not improve to begin the second half, as the Vikings hit two back-to-back three-point shots to go up double digits for the first time in the contest.
After a timeout, Jaeden Grade scored eight straight points, including two three pointers, to pull St. Norbert back into the game. A dunk by Nickolai shortly after only had St. Norbert down by one after trailing by 11 less than two minutes before.
Lawrence would find themselves up by seven after more three-point shots but would lose the lead for good after long range shots from Charlie Geske and Aidan Harrington gave the Green Knights their first lead since early in the first half.
St. Norbert built up a seven-point lead of its own with four minutes left to play, but Lawrence remained persistent and would come within two. However, after several empty possessions and fouls to end the game, the Vikings could not find an answer, as St. Norbert made its free throws to win in comeback style, 68-62.
St. Norbert shot 56 percent in the second half, including going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc after only making two in the first half.
Overall, St. Norbert shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52). The Vikings held the advantage in rebounds, 37-35.
Nickolai finished the game with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. Grade scored all 13 of his points in the second half, going perfect from the floor with four makes, three of which were from three. Geske scored 10 off the bench while also grabbing four boards.
Lawrence shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58). Nicholas Gouriotis led the Vikings with 14 points and six rebounds.
The Green Knights will be back in action on Friday, as they will travel to Minnesota to take on NCAA Division I opponent University of St. Thomas. The game will be an exhibition contest for St. Norbert.
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