By: Illinois College was within two points with eight minutes left, but St. Norbert hit its free throws down the stretch to pull away for the 10-point victory.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - Four players for Illinois College scored in double-figures, but it couldn't keep up with a St. Norbert College team that went 20-22 from the free throw line to defeat IC, 73-63. Illinois College drops to 6-8 (1-6 Midwest Conference). St. Norbert stays perfect in conference play at 12-2 (7-0 MWC).
Illinois College kicked off the game on a roll.
Max Stutsman hit an early layup, which was followed by a three-pointer from Brady Hays to give the Blueboys the early 5-0 lead. St. Norbert's scoring was started on a dunk by Connor Curtis, bringing the game to 5-2.
Hays hit a second triple to extend Illinois College's lead back to five, 10-5. St. Norbert constructed a 6-0 run, capped by a D.J. DeValk layup, to take the lead, 11-10. IC reclaimed the lead as
Tim Parks broke free for a layup, putting the Blueboys back on top, 12-11.
St. Norbert's Drew Yetka drilled a three-pointer to give the Green Knights a 17-14 advantage, but Parks quickly responded with a three of his own, knotting the game at 17-17. A Taylor Penn three-pointer put the finishing touches on a 7-0 St. Norbert run, giving the visitors a seven-point lead over Illinois College, 27-20, with just over four minutes remaining in the half.
Mason Speer pulled IC within five, 27-22, with a pair of free throws. St. Norbert countered with a triple from Mitchell Reinthaler, giving the Green Knights their largest lead of the half, 30-22. Hays cut the lead back down to five, 30-25, following a free throw. Curtis sank two free throws at the end of the half, sending the game into halftime with St. Norbert on top, 35-28.
Curtis scored early to push the St. Norbert lead to nine, but two consecutive Illinois College buckets from
Riley Dugan and Stutsman pulled the Blueboys within five, 37-32. Hays' fourth three-pointer of the night cut the deficit to three, 40-37, four minutes into the second half.
St. Norbert extended its lead to ten, 48-38, following an 8-1 run that was topped off by a Joe Lemon put-back. Illinois College came back with an 9-1 run of its own, featuring three three-pointers, pulling the Blueboys within two, 49-47, with eight minutes remaining in the game.
Curtis extended St. Norbert's lead back out to eight with a deep three-pointer, 55-47. Another triple from Curtis, with the addition of two free throws from DeValk, pushed the Green Knights' lead to 12 points, 62-50, with under four minutes to play in the game.
Stutsman cut Illinois College's deficit down to ten with a layup, 64-54, but two free throws from Curtis later gave St. Norbert its largest lead of the game, 67-54, with two minutes left.
Sean McDonald hit a jumper to pull IC back to single-digits, 67-59, but that's as close as the Blueboys would come.
St. Norbert's lead was extended out to 12 points with a pair of free throws from DeValk, making it 73-61. Illinois College scored once more, with Parks driving for a layup with 20 seconds left, ending the game with St. Norbert on top, 73-63.
Illinois College was led by Hays, who scored 14 points in the contest. McDonald finished with 11 points. Speer tallied 10 for the Blueboys and tacked on nine helpers. DeValk paced St. Norbert, scoring a game-high 21. Curtis finished with 19 points, and Reinthaler contributed 13 for the Green Knights.
The Blueboys hit the hardwood again tomorrow, squaring off against Lawrence University. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.
