With the end of the regular season quickly approaching, the men’s basketball team won big against the 19th-ranked Green Knights of St. Norbert. LU defeated the first-place Knights 65-38 and moved to within a half game of first place in the conference.
The Vikings started out strong as they jumped to a 17-3 lead eight minutes into the game. From there, they never looked back. The Vikings lead by 31-17 at halftime and closed out the second half in a commanding fashion.
Not disappointing on senior night, the Vikings came out of halftime and dominated the first eight minutes again, going on a 19-4 run, increasing their lead to 19 points.
With the victory, the Vikings increase their winning streak to five and move to a record of 15-6.
Senior Doug Kadison commented on what changed to allow the team to hit this hot streak. “We have had some wake-up calls this year where teams have hurt us because of our lack of intensity on D and we realize that we’re only as good as our defense plays.”
The Vikings great defense was in full force Saturday, as they held the Knights to only 21 percent from the field in the entire game. Even more impressive, LU held St. Norbert to only nine percent shooting from behind the arc, including zero percent in the first half (0-11).
The win Saturday marks the 10th-straight win in the series and the Vikings have now swept St. Norbert on the season. The men’s team is now looking forward to their last conference game this Saturday when they head down to play Ripon.
The Vikings now prepare for the Midwest Conference Tournament and attempt to capture the automatic bid to enter the Division III national playoffs. When asked if there were any teams they need to watch out for, senior Ryan Kroeger said, “I think the only team we need to worry about is Lawrence. If we play like we are capable of every game from now on, we should have a fun couple of weeks ahead of us.”
Lawrence loses five seniors this year commendable for four great years of Lawrence basketball: Ryan Kroeger, Doug Kadison, Chris Page, Jayce Apelgren and B.J. Harry. Page commented on the last four years: “There have been many ups and downs on the court, but the best part of this season is the off-court relationships we have with everyone on the team. We truly are one big family.”
The Vikings try now to bring the conference tournament to LU. We know the team is working hard, as Apelgren commented, “I hope that we create some memorable moments in the coming weeks that really make this a unique season.
Men’s Bball routs Green Knights on senior night
