DE PERE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College overcame a 12-point deficit by out-scoring St. Norbert by 15 points in the second half for a 66-61 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win on Tuesday at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center. It marked the Warriors' first win over the Green Knights since 1996.
WLC (7-6, 5-2 NACC) had its lone lead of the first half at 3-2 on a three-pointer from junior
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.). SNC (7-6, 4-2 NACC) responded with an 11-0 scoring run to take its largest lead of the opening half. Wisconsin Lutheran answered the run with eight straight of its own and later trailed by just one point at 23-22 following a pair of free throws from junior
Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.).
St. Norbert increased its advantage back to 10 points at halftime, 38-28, after out-scoring the Warriors by nine points over the final 5:01 of the first period.
WLC trimmed its halftime deficit to five points within the first three minutes of the second half, but a 7-0 Green Knights run gave them their largest lead of the game at 45-33 with 15:30 remaining. Wisconsin Lutheran still found itself trailing by 10 with 12:07 left, but began to slowly chip away.
A 19-5 run over a six-minute span put the Warriors in front for good 56-52 thanks to a layup from senior
Trevor Stiede (Pulaski, Wis.) and a three-pointer from Goetz. SNC came within two points twice within the final four-and-a-half minutes, but WLC had an answer both times, including a three from junior
Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) at the 2:15 mark. St. Norbert had two chances to tie the game on a possession in the closing seconds, but senior
Simeon Strauss (Chicago, Ill.) stole a pass and knocked down two free throws at the other end to seal the win.
Goetz led three players in double figures for Wisconsin Lutheran with 18 points. Strauss finished with 17, including 12 in the second half, while junior
Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) added 14 points and nine rebounds. The Warriors were held to a season-low 34.6 percent (18-for-52) shooting, but made 23 of their 28 free throw attempts for 82.1 percent.
Evan Glaser was one of three players in double figures with a game-high 19 points for the Green Knights, who were held to 34.4 percent (21-for-61) shooting.
WLC remains on the road Saturday for a 2 p.m. NACC matchup against Rockford (6-6, 2-4 NACC). Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
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