MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WLCSports.com) – St. Norbert used a dominant second half to pull away for an 88-60 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory over Wisconsin Lutheran College on Wednesday at Time of Grace Center.
The Green Knights (11-4, 8-0 NACC) shot 50.8 percent (32 of 63) from the field, including 14 of 36 from 3-point range. The Warriors (3-11, 1-6 NACC) shot 36.2 percent (21 of 58) overall and 29.6 percent (8 of 27) from deep.
WLC briefly led 2-0 on a sophomore
Sam Hans (Hartland, Wis.) jumper in the opening minute, and later held an 11-9 advantage off two free throws from sophomore Lucas Amanndu (Buffalo Grove, Ill.). The teams traded baskets for much of the opening eight minutes before SNC began to separate, using runs of 8-0 and 10-0 to push its lead to double-digits at 31-19. St. Norbert closed the half with a late 3-pointer to take a 42-24 lead into the break. The Green Knights shot 50 percent in the first half and held Wisconsin Lutheran to 32 percent.
The Warriors came out of the second half with their best stretch of the night, trimming the deficit to nine at 44-35 after a flurry from freshman
Isaiah Mellock (Greendale, Wis.), who scored nine points in a 11-0 run capped by a 3-pointer at the 17:01 mark. SNC responded with a game-defining 37-3 run over the next nine minutes, hitting seven 3-pointers during the surge, and the lead ballooned to 81-38 with 6:18 left before both teams emptied their benches.
Mellock led WLC with 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman
Riley Mueller (Hortonville, Wis.) added 11 points in just over six minutes off the bench.
For St. Norbert, Cole Uhlenbrauck (19), Mason Freiburger (18) and Ryan Cox (13) all scored in double figures. Freiburger led the team with seven rebounds.
Wisconsin Lutheran returns to action Saturday, January 17, at Benedictine (3-10, 2-5 NACC). Tip-off is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
Â
