The Lawrence University men’s basketball team was excited to play a Division I basketball team for the first time since Larry Bird was a college star. Unfortunately the fun didn’t last long, as Wisconsin-Milwaukee jumped out early on the Vikings and cruised to an 89-55 win. The Vikings showed spurts of greatness however, and Jason Hollenbeck had a monster game leading all scorers with 19 points for the Vikings.
The Vikings kept close with the Panthers in the early going, allowing UW-M to keep the lead near 10 points. The Panthers led at the half by 14. The Panthers then hit eight of their first 12 shots in the second half to jump out to a 60-35 advantage, and the teams traded baskets through the finish. Hollenbeck led LU with 19 points on 5-8 shooting from behind the arc. Ed McCants led the Panthers with 19 as well on 5-9 shooting from behind the arc. Second team all-American Chris Braier added eight points and five rebounds for LU.
The Panthers are the preseason favorites to win the Horizon Conference. LU is ranked fifth nationally by Street and Smith and seventh by d3hoops.com. The Vikings are next in action next weekend at the UW-Platteville Tip-off Tournament. Look for a complete preview of the Viking men’s basketball team in next week’s issue of The Lawrentian
Men’s basketball puts on show at UW-Milwaukee
