(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) DE PERE – St. Norbert College got past a pesky Illinois Institute of Technology at the charity stripe, defeating the Scarlet Hawks 71-63 in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
The Green Knights (12-6, 8-3 NACC) took the lead at 1:06 in the first half after trailing for most of the opening period. Despite not being able to turn many field goals into points in the second half, the Green Knights converted 18 free throw attempts to keep the lead.
The Scarlet Hawks opened the game on a 12-6 run, before a Jaeden Grade basket tied the game at 14 at 9:34. Illinois Tech seemed to be one step ahead of the Green Knights for most of the half, regrowing their lead to a several possession game after St. Norbert would close the gap only to lose momentum.
A triple threat of 3-pointers from Garrett Grzesk and Connor Pytleski turned the game in the favor of St. Norbert, with Grzek’s second three at 1:06 giving the Green Knights the lead back at 28-25. Grzesk would have a third triple just before the buzzer, giving St. Norbert a 33-25 lead at the break.
The Green Knights would make the most of their free throw opportunities in the second half, going to the line 21 times, making up for a cold streak from the floor in the final 10 minutes.
A late Scarlet Hawks surge brought the lead down to 65-60 in the final 30 seconds, but with Jamison Nickolai (pictured) and Grade combining to go 6-for-6 in that frame it was too late for the visitors.
St. Norbert shot 33.3 percent from the floor (20-for-60). Nickolai led the way with a double-double performance of 20 points and 15 rebounds. St. Norbert shot 70 percent from free throw opportunities (14-for-20). The Green Knights were outrebounded by Illinois Tech, 40-39.
Illinois Tech shot 40.7 percent from the floor (22-for-54). DeAndre Vortes led the Scarlet Hawks with 18 points.
Women’s basketball
St. Norbert 85, Illinois Tech 54
DE PERE – St. Norbert College throttled Illinois Institute of Technology 85-54, winning its sixth straight game in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
The Green Knights (13-3, 8-0 NACC) thoroughly outplayed the Scarlet Hawks, leading by as many as 16 after the first quarter. Taylor Thiry continued her impressive week with another fantastic performance, scoring 12 points in the opening 10 minutes of the game. The Green Knights dominated the paint in all four quarters, scoring 58 of their 85 points in the lane.
St. Norbert kept Illinois Tech scoreless for over five minutes in the second quarter, as the lead would grow to as many as 20 when Rose Hahn hit a three with four seconds remaining to put St. Norbert up 38-18 at the half.
The Green Knights scored on six of their first seven possessions to open the third quarter. Thiry and Casey Jepson led the way to start the half, while Olivia Conway and Rose Hahn (pictured) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put St. Norbert up 62-34 with 2:51 left in the quarter.
The Green Knight’s largest lead of the game came off a Avery Bierowski three with 1:47 left in the game, putting St. Norbert up by 34 points at 83-49.
St. Norbert shot 50.7 percent from the floor (36-for-71). The Green Knights outrebounded the Scarlet Hawks 42-32.
Thiry had over 20 points for the second time this week, scoring 22 and grabbing 7 rebounds. Hahn had 12 points, while Bierowski added 11 off the bench.
Illinois Tech shot 35.2 percent from the floor (19-for-54). Berit Rusing and Julia Bucci led the Scarlet Hawks with 11 points each
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