(paul wilke)
The Lawrence University Men’s
Basketball team (10-10, 7-6 MWC)
earned two important wins last
weekend, defeating Illinois College
and Knox College in a pair of
come-from-behind wins to move
into a tie for fourth place in the
conference.
In Friday’s game, Illinois
College (9-10, 5-7 MWC) hit six
3-pointers early to build a 19-7
lead, but Lawrence fought back to
close the score at the first half at
35-30 in favor of the Blue Boys.
Three minutes into the second
half, the Blue Boys were holding
onto a 39-36 lead, but the Vikings
launched a 21-0 run in the second
half to give Lawrence a 57-39
lead. During the seven-minute run,
senior John Dekker made three
successive 3-pointers and junior
Erik Borresen scored six points.
Dekker led the Vikings with 21
points and five assists, and Tyler
Crisman contributed 15 points.
Borresen – in what has become
a rare event – was held shy of a
double-double, adding 10 points,
nine rebounds, and two blocks.
After the Blue Boys’ initial lead,
the Vikings held them to a mere
2-for-17 shooting from beyond
the arc for the rest of the game.
Lawrence shot 61.3 percent in the
second half and 54.2 percent for
the game.
Following their victory against
Illinois College, the Vikings had to
fight for a 75-67 win over conference
bottom-feeder Knox (2-17,
2-10 MWC) on Saturday afternoon.
Lawrence took an early 16-2
lead in the first half, but Knox
retaliated by making eight 3-pointers
to take a 39-37 lead. A Jon
Mays layup with 45 seconds to
go left the score tied at 39-39 at
the half.
Knox jumped out to a quick
four-point lead in the second
half, but the Vikings’ comeback
would be much less dramatic than
in the previous game. With less
than 12 minutes left, Lawrence
took a 48-47 lead with a layup by
Borresen and held the lead for the
rest of the game.
For the second game in a row,
Dekker led the Vikings, notching
23 points and 11 rebounds.
Borresen had 16 points and nine
rebounds, and Crisman added 14
points and five assists. Dustin Lee
had five assists and capped a 13-6
run in the game with back-to-back
3-pointers.
The Vikings travel to first-place
St. Norbert College next Saturday
to continue their push towards
the conference tournament. With
three games left in the regular
season, Lawrence stands tied with
Carroll University (12-8, 7-6 MWC)
for the fourth and final spot in the
conference tournament, though
the Pioneers hold the tiebreaker
with a better overall record.
(paul wilke)