WLC Drops Seesaw Affair To St. Norbert

MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College saw its nine-game winning streak come to an end on Tuesday, as St. Norbert came away with a 66-60 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory in a battle of the NACC's top two teams at the Time of Grace Center.

The Warriors (15-7, 12-3 NACC), who lost for the first time in 2023, traded leads with the Green Knights (15-7, 12-3 NACC) 12 times in addition to a tie score on 10 occasions. 

SNC netted the first four points of the game before five straight from WLC gave the hosts their first lead of the game just over two minutes in. Wisconsin Lutheran held a trio of four-point leads in the first half, the later being 21-17 following a dunk from junior AJ Vos (Lombard, Ill.) with 9:05 remaining. 

With the contest knotted at 33-33, St. Norbert broke away from the seventh tie of the opening half by scoring the last five points before halftime for a 38-33 lead at the break.

The Green Knights opened their largest lead of the game with the first two points out of halftime, 40-33. Consecutive three-pointers from senior Simeon Strauss (Chicago, Ill.) brought the Warriors within one. SNC maintained a slim lead for the next eight-plus minutes, before a 7-0 WLC scoring run by put the hosts ahead 51-50 with 6:47 left.

Strauss answered a St. Norbert score with his fifth three-pointer of the game for a 54-52 lead at the 6:10 mark. Following two more tie scores, a Green Knights three-pointer gave them a 59-56 advantage with 4:25 to play. Senior Trevor Stiede (Pulaski, Wis.) knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one, but SNC answered again with a basket on its next possession. 

Trailing 61-58 with 1:54 on the clock, Wisconsin Lutheran missed its next four shots from the floor and St. Norbert went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 0:16 seconds to seal the win.

Strauss led three players in double figures for the Warriors with 15 points behind five three-point makes. Stiede and junior Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Broeckel led the team with eight rebounds, while junior Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) distributed seven assists. WLC shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the floor, the lowest since its first meeting against the Green Knights on January 3.

Michael Payant posted a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead three in double figures for SNC, which shot 51.1 percent (24-for-47) from the floor in the game.

Wisconsin Lutheran remains home on Saturday when it hosts Illinois Tech (10-12, 8-6 NACC) in a 2 p.m. NACC matchup. Live coverage links will be available for the contest at WLCSports.com.