CHICAGO, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Senior
AJ Vos (Lombard, Ill.) recorded his first career double-double and Wisconsin Lutheran College used a 9-0 run late in the second half to seal a 71-55 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win over Illinois Tech on Tuesday at Keating Sports Center.
The Warriors (9-1, 5-0 NACC), who are off to their best 10-game start in program history, trailed the Scarlet Hawks (3-8, 2-3 NACC) for a total of 0:40 seconds to remain the lone unbeaten team in conference play at the close of the calendar year.
WLC answered IIT's opening basket of the game with 10 consecutive points, and senior
Ryan Broeckel's (Chilton, Wis.) three-pointer at the 14:20 mark gave Wisconsin Lutheran a 13-4 lead. Vos put the Warriors ahead by a first-half high 14 points at 26-12 following three straight free throw makes with 8:14 remaining.
A 7-0 run from Illinois Tech trimmed its deficit to 28-21, forcing a WLC timeout with 4:08 left before halftime. Wisconsin Lutheran netted the next four points before carrying a 34-25 lead into the locker room at intermission. Broeckel and Vos tallied 10 points each in the opening half.
The Scarlet Hawks used an 8-0 run, their largest of the game, just over six minutes into the second half to close within 40-37. The Warriors held a four-point lead at the eight-and-a-half minute mark before a three from Broeckel and a floater from senior
Jacob Hefle (Germantown, Wis.) quickly brought the advantage up to nine points.
Five minutes later, WLC embarked on a game-clinching 9-0 scoring run to build a game-high 18-point lead at 71-53 with under two minutes to play. Senior
Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) netted 10 points in the second half, as Wisconsin Lutheran shot 46.9 percent from the floor in the final period.
Vos scored a career-high 18 points and tied a career-high with 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. He added four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Broeckel finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Goetz added 14 points. Hefle rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. The Warriors, who outscored IIT 20-12 on turnovers and 16-4 in second chance points, shot 40.3 percent (25-for-62) from the floor.
Garrison Carter scored 12 points to lead three players in double figures for Illinois Tech, which went for 42.1 percent (24-for-57) from the field.
WLC is off until Friday, December 29 when it travels to Dubuque, Iowa for the Loras Holiday Classic and a 5 p.m. matchup with Simpson (4-5). Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.
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