Men’s Basketball crushes Monmouth, loses in third OT to GrinnellThe Lawrence University Men’s Basketball team split a pair of games against MWC foes this past weekend. The Vikings crushed Monmouth 75-40, but lost a heartbreaker to Grinnell 150-149 in three overtimes.
On Friday the Vikings had no trouble defeating the Scots. The Vikings came out early, and with the game tied at 12, the Vikings went on a 20-2 run to make the score 32-14.
The Scots got as close as 16 points at the half at 38-22, but could not stop the potent Viking offense in the second half. The Vikings cruised to an easy 75-40 win.
Chris Braier, who had another double double, led the Vikings. He finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Jason Hollinbeck was the other Viking in double figures with 11 points.
Saturday the Vikings took on a Grinnell team that is the leading scorer in any NCAA division. The Pioneers are averaging 130 points per game, and Saturday was no exception.
The game was an offensive battle right from the beginning. The pioneers shot threes, and the Vikings beat the transition back for lay-ups. At the half LU had a 54-50 lead, but that was not nearly enough against the Pioneer attack.
The Vikings couldn’t hold the lead in a seesaw second half, and the teams went into the first overtime period tied at 106.
The first overtime saw the Vikings seem to have the game won. They played better, and had a three point lead with the period winding down. But Grinnell could not be stopped.
Steve Wood hit a desperation three as the buzzer sounded, and the game was sent into a second overtime. Wood was the leading scorer for both teams in the game; he finished with 48 points and shot an astounding 14 threes.
The second overtime was even again as the teams put up 15 points apiece to send the game to a third and final OT.
In the third overtime, Grinnell finally took a lead. They were up by one, 150-149 as time wound down, but the Vikings had one last chance.
Brent Vandermause had a shot at the buzzer to win for the Vikings, but it didn’t fall, and Grinnell came away with a hard-fought win, 150-149.
Braier led the Vikings again, tying a school record with 45 points. He also added an amazing 23 rebounds.
Also in double figures for the Vikings were Brendan Falls with 34, Chris MacGillis with 25, Hollinbeck with 21, and Quentin Herring with 10. The Vikings shot a horrendous 64 percent from the free-throw line, which was ultimately their undoing.
The Vikings are still in first place in the MWC and will be home this weekend. They play Knox tonight and Monmouth tomorrow afternoon. Both games can be heard on 91.1 WLFM.
LU Women win one of two on weekend
The LU Women’s Basketball team won their first game against Monmouth Friday night, but couldn’t defeat Grinnell on Saturday.
The Vikings and Scots both were horrendous from the field on Friday. Neither team shot above 30 percent for the game.
The Scots came out and scored six points in a minute in the first half to jump to a 17-10 lead over the Vikings. They parlayed this into a 25-19 halftime lead.
The Vikings came storming back in the second half. Monmouth got the lead up to as much as nine, but the Vikings fought back and tied the game at 37 with just over nine minutes remaining.
The teams fought to the finish, but the Vikings hit their free throws in the end, and came out the victors, 51-46. The Vikings were led by freshman phenom Claire Getzoff, who had 16 points. Felice Poratta added 12 for LU.
The first half of Saturday’s game looked a lot like the first half Friday. Neither team shot well, and the Vikings trailed by four at the half, 33-29. This time there would be no second half comeback, however.
The Pioneers pushed the lead further, and took the win 64-51. Getzoff’s 17 points led the Vikings.
The Vikings are tied for the fourth and last playoff spot in the MWC. They will host Knox and Monmouth this weekend at Alexander Gym. Tip is 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. Both games can be heard on 91.1 WLFM.
Swimmers have rough time against tough competition
The Lawrence University Swimming and Diving team had a rough time against very tough competition at the Get to the Point Invitational at UW-Stevens Point last weekend.
The Viking women placed 10th out of 11 teams and the men took eighth out of nine teams.
Jody Primus, who took fifth in the 200 IM, paced the women. The men had Tom Carroll take third in the 500 freestyle, and sixth in the 1,650-meter freestyle. Nick Heuer took fifth in the 100 backstroke.
The Vikings will be home this Saturday hosting the Wisconsin Private College Championships in the Boldt Natatorium. The meet will begin at noon.