By: An 10-0 run from Lawrence midway through the second half gave the Vikings the cushion they would need to hold off IC on Saturday afternoon.
Box Score APPLETON, Wis. – The Illinois College men's basketball team was neck-and-neck with Lawrence University on Saturday until a large scoring run from the Vikings midway through the second half gave the home side a lead that would hold up until the end in a 77-67 Lawrence victory. The Blueboys dropped their second straight game to fall to 2-3 (0-2 Midwest Conference) on the season.
Lawrence was able to hold a slim lead on Illinois College most of the way through the first half, but the Blueboys refused to go away. Up 6-2 after consecutive
Max Stutsman baskets, the Blueboys were on the receiving end of a 7-0 run to fall behind, 9-6, before Stutsman converted a short jumper in the lane. Two
Cody Hildebrand free throws put IC ahead again with five minutes played, but a 6-0 run from the Vikings gave them a 20-14 edge and it grew to as many as seven points before four free throws from Illinois College in the final minute of the half sliced the deficit to two, 38-36, at the break.
The lead swung briefly back to Illinois College to begin the second half as
David Bauer knocked in a three-pointer to give the Blueboys a 39-38 lead. IC held onto a lead for much of the early portions of the second half, leading by three on four occasions, the last time on a pair of Hildebrand free throws that made it 54-51.
A three-point play from Lawrence's Jamie Nikitas tied the game at 54-54, and though Stutsman would give IC one last lead at 57-56, Nikitas had the final six points of a 10-0 surge from the Vikings that made it 66-57 with just over eight minutes remaining. A 7-0 response from the Blueboys closed IC to within 69-65 with five minutes to play after two
Mitchell Patterson free throws, but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way.
Stutsman and
Tim Schappaugh shared team-high scoring honors for Illinois College with 15 points, while Hildebrand added 14. Bauer had 10 off the bench and Patterson chipped in with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds. Nikitas led the Vikings with 35 points on the afternoon.
The Blueboys will be back home on Dec. 8 for a MWC matchup with Knox College. Tip-off from Sherman Gymnasium is set for 5:30 p.m.
