Men’s basketball
(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) LISLE, Ill. – St. Norbert College rallied from a double-digit deficit in the first half to take down Benedictine University 80-74 in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at the Rice Center, going on a massive scoring run at the end of the first half to put the Green Knights within two at halftime.
The Green Knights (11-6, 7-3 NACC) fell behind after a tight open to the game. The Eagles broke away from several early ties and would grow their lead to as many as 12 points. With 7:18 left in the first half and the Eagles leading 33-21, Will Stuckey (pictured) kickstarted the big run with eight straight points. Although Benedictine would get back to a double-digit lead shortly after, a 9-0 run in the final 2:39 of the first half only gave the Eagles a 40-38 lead at halftime, thanks to four points from Garrett Grzesk in the final minute, including a jumper that beat the halftime buzzer.
The Green Knights were able to keep their hot shooting going after the break, coming within one point of the lead after a Stuckey layup at 15:10, with the Eagles leading 49-48.
A three from Jaden Grade tied the game at 56 with 11:19 left in the half, giving the Green Knights their first tie since 18:16 in the first half. That would be followed up with Connor Pytleski basket after a Cole Uhlenbrauck steal to give St. Norbert its first lead of the night at 58-56 with 10:48 remaining.
Benedictine was never far from the lead, but the Green Knights did enough to maintain the slight advantage. Baskets from Brandt Wilson, Jamison Nickolai and Grzesk kept the lead in the clutches of St. Norbert. Nickolai’s three with 15 seconds left proved to be the dagger.
St. Norbert shot 46 percent from the floor (29-for-63). The wealth of points was spread across the St. Norbert squad, with every Green Knight getting at least one bucket. Wilson led the way with 12 points, while Grzesk had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists. Stuckey, Nickolai and Aidan Harrington all finished with 10 points.
St. Norbert outrebounded the Eagles 37-29.
Benedictine shot 47.2 percent from the floor (25-for-53). Pat Mayfield led the Eagles with 25 points.
Women’s basketball
DE PERE – St. Norbert College continued its fantastic form with a fifth straight win, defeating Benedictine University 63-48 in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
The Green Knights (12-3, 7-0 NACC) took their time to get going against the Eagles after the visitors started the game on a 6-0 run. With six points in the opening quarter, Olivia Conway (pictured) hit two 3-pointers to help the Green Knights claw their way back to the lead. A 7-3 run at the end of the first quarter gave the Green Knights a 16-15 lead, one they would keep the remainder of the game.
Two 3-pointers from Casey Jepson opened the St. Norbert lead to 24-15 at 7:16 in the second quarter. With the Eagles closing in on the lead with a three of their own, NACC Player of the Week Taylor Thiry went to work and scored six straight points in less than a minute, giving St. Norbert a 32-26 lead at halftime.
A third three from Conway with 4:45 left in the third quarter put St. Norbert up by 13 at 42-29, their biggest lead of the night to that point.
The Eagles would get back within nine points several times in the fourth quarter, but late charity stripe makes from Thiry and Jepson helped St. Norbert keep a healthy lead to the end.
St. Norbert shot 40 percent from the floor (24-for-60). The Green Knights outrebounded Benedictine 39-32.
Thiry had yet another double-double performance, finishing with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Jepson had 13 points, going 50 percent from three. Conway added nine points off the bench. Avery Bierowski and Marnie Kahl both had six points.
Benedictine shot 32.1 percent from the floor (17-for-53). Allison Jarvis led the Eagles with 16 points.
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