Blueboys Held in Check by Stingy St. Norbert Defense

Box Score
DE PERE, Wis. – The Illinois College men's basketball team didn't have a player make it to double-figures in scoring and were held to a season-low point total, falling to St. Norbert, 75-56. The Blueboys are now 3-2 (0-2 Midwest Conference), with the Green Knights improving to 5-1 (2-0 MWC).

St. Norbert stormed out to a 10-0 lead as Illinois College didn't score a point until two Mason Speer free throws with 14:36 left in the opening half. IC's first field goal was courtesy of Tim Parks, and two quick baskets by Brady Hays tied the game at 12-12 after the freshman connected on a three-pointer at the 11:13 mark.

Over the next five minutes, St. Norbert embarked on a 15-2 run, including 12 unanswered points capped by a Mitchell Reinthaler layup with six minutes left until the half. The Green Knights would go to the break with a 30-20 lead on the Blueboys.

Coming out of the locker rooms, Sean McDonald and David Bauer combined for three three-pointers, bringing Illinois College within three at 32-29. Again, St. Norbert responded well to the challenge, reeling off nine straight points to go back up by 12. The Blueboys cut that lead in half on three-pointers from Max Stutsmand and Riley Dugan and a mid-range jumper from Hays, making it 43-37 with under 12 minutes left. That would end up being as close as IC would get the rest of the way though.

St. Norbert locked down on the Illinois College offense in the middle of the second half, and a Joe Ciriacks trey with 4:43 to play gave the Green Knights a 64-44 advantage. The Blueboys couldn't come back from that deficit, though Isaac Collins came off the bench with two late threes, and Brandon Shaon had a layup in the closing seconds.

McDonald ended with a team-high nine points, while Stutsman and Hays each added eight. Parks led the IC reserves with seven points off the bench.

Illinois College will conclude its three-game road trip with a Dec. 6 matchup at Lake Forest College at 5:30 p.m.