WAUWATOSA - St. Norbert College jumped out to a big lead early and held on from there as it posted a 79-67 win over Wisconsin Lutheran College in a key Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference game at Recreation Complex.

The Green Knights (9-4, 5-1 NACC) kept their share of the lead atop the NACC standings in handing the Warriors (8-3, 3-2) their second league loss.

St. Norbert took control early, jumping out to a quick 10-3 lead just over three minutes into the game on a 3-pointer by Jacob Bolwerk and a conventional three-point play from Parker Lawrence. The Green Knights then took a 13-7 lead and went on a 14-1 run to take a 27-8 lead with 10:24 left in the first half. Michael Payant banged home four 3-pointers to fuel the run.

The Green Knights led 31-10 with 8:25 left in the first half and didn't score another field goal until Kyle Krueger's hoop with 4:24 left for a 34-12 lead. St. Norbert settled on a 38-19 lead at halftime.

St. Norbert held a 22-point lead at 56-34 with 11:34 left, but the Warriors went on a 14-3 run over the next 3:45 to get to within 59-48 with 7:49 to go on a Jacob Stoltz conventional three-point play. Jack Pettit answered with a 3-pointer to temporarily hold off the Warriors' charge. The Green Knights led 71-57 with 3:34 left after a pair of Bolwerk free throws, but Wisconsin Lutheran then went on a 9-0 run to get to within 71-66 with 1:48 left. A Pettit dunk put St. Norbert up 74-66 with 1:13 left, and he then added a pair of free throws with 48 seconds to go to boost the lead back to double digits and seal the win.

The Green Knights got a career-night from Payant, who posted career-highs with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Pettit added a career-high 15 points, while Krueger finished with a career-high 12 points. Bolwerk added 11 points, while Evan Glaser finished with a career-high 11 rebounds. St. Norbert shot 28-for-67 (41.8 percent) from the floor but was 9-for-20 (45 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.

Wisconsin Lutheran shot 27.9 percent (19-for-68) from the floor and was 7-for-36 (19.4 percent) from distance. The Warriors were 22-for-29 (75.9 percent) at the free-throw line. Grayson Goetz had 18 points, while Stoltz added 14 points and Drew Bernhagen 12 points.