Warriors' Furious Rally Falls Short At St. Norbert

DE PERE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College nearly erased a 22-point halftime deficit, but St. Norbert held on for an 83-76 win on Wednesday in a battle of the top two teams in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.

The Warriors (10-3, 5-1 NACC) held their only lead of the game at 9-8 following a three-pointer from senior Jacob Stoltz (Kewaskum, Wis.) at the 16:20 mark of the first half. The Green Knights (10-3, 5-1 NACC) scored the next eight points to take a seven-point lead that they would never relinquish. WLC trailed by five at 28-23 after a Stoltz layup with 6:50 left in the opening half, but SNC closed out the half on a 21-4 run to take a 49-27 lead at the break. St. Norbert shot a sizzling 19-for-28 from the floor, including 8-for-12 from three-point range in the opening stanza.

Senior Jacob Hefle's (Germantown, Wis.) three-pointer capped a 10-0 run four minutes into the second half, as Wisconsin Lutheran trailed by 12 at 51-39. A three-point play from Stoltz cut the Warriors' deficit down to just eight at 54-46 with 13-and-a-half minutes left, and the deficit remained in single digits for the final 13 minutes. WLC came within four points on seven different occasions under the 10-and-half-minute mark, but couldn't quite get over the hump. Stotlz's layup with 0:34 seconds left had Wisconsin Lutheran within four at 80-76, but the Green Knights made three of their last four free throw attempts, and the Warriors went 0-for-3 from long distance in the waning moments. WLC shot over 54 percent from the floor in the second half and held SNC to just one three-point attempt. 

Stoltz scored a game-high 21 points to pace three Wisconsin Lutheran players in double figures. He also dished out a game-high four assists. Senior Ryan Broeckel (Chilton, Wis.) finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high three blocks, while senior Grayson Goetz (Aurora, Ill.) added 14 points. The Warriors, who doubled up St. Norbert 20-10 in points off turnovers, finished the game shooting 49.2 percent (29-for-59). WLC made at least 10 threes for the sixth time this season.

Carter Gebler scored 17 points to lead five players in double figures for the Green Knights, who shot 52.9 percent (27-for-51) from the floor and outscored Wisconsin Lutheran 12-2 in second chance points.

The Warriors begin a three-game homestand on Saturday when they host MSOE (5-8, 2-4 NACC) at 3:15 p.m. Live coverage links will be available at WLCSports.com.