DE PERE - St. Norbert College's first-ever game in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Men's Basketball Tournament was a memorable one, as the Green Knights outlasted Wisconsin Lutheran College 87-78 in overtime in a quarterfinal-round game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.
The Green Knights (16-9) advance to play at Concordia University Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Friday in a NACC Semifinal at Buuck Fieldhouse in Mequon.
Neither team led by more than five points in the last 16 tense minutes of regulation time. St. Norbert led 64-61 with 2:45 left after a
Michael Payant free throw. The Warriors answered at the 1:52 mark on a layup by Ryan Broeckel. Following a St. Norbert turnover, a Trevor Steide 3-pointer with 1:25 left put Wisconsin Lutheran ahead 66-64. Following another St. Norbert turnover, Wisconsin Lutheran missed a 3-pointer.
Evan Glaser's finish at the rim through contact with 16 seconds left tied the game at 66-66. Wisconsin Lutheran had a chance to win, but Jacob Stoltz's runner was turned aside on a block from a swooping Payant with 4 seconds left. St. Norbert had a last-ditch shot to win, but
Carter Gebler's desperation 3-pointer from just inside midcourt rolled hard off the bracket as the buzzer sounded.
Wisconsin Lutheran scored to open overtime on a Grayson Goetz basket, but from there it was all St. Norbert. The Green Knights were 5-for-5 from the floor in overtime and 9-for-10 at the free-throw line, and had just two empty possessions on turnovers. St. Norbert went on a 7-0 run after a 3-pointer from
Jacob Bolwerk, a layup by Gebler and a jumper from Payant for a 73-68 lead with 3 minutes left. Following another Goetz layup, a
Parker Lawrence basket and a pair of
Kyle Krueger free throws put St. Norbert up 77-70 with 1:45 left. Bolwerk then canned a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with 1:04 left for an 80-72 lead and effectively decide the outcome.
St. Norbert had command of the first half, building a lead of 19-9 that lasted until the 4:32 mark of the first half. The Green Knights led 28-18 at halftime. St. Norbert led 34-24 early in the second half, but an 8-1 run by the Warriors got them back into the game for the rest of regulation.
The Green Knights shot 51.7 percent (31-for-60) from the floor and were 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. St. Norbert also had an enormous 50-28 rebounding advantage. Payant led the Green Knights with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Gebler added 17 points off the bench, while Lawrence had 12 points and Bolwerk 10, with six of his coming in overtime.
Wisconsin Lutheran shot 41.7 percent (30-for-72) from the floor and was 5-for-28 (17.9 percent) from distance. Goetz led the Warriors with 14 points, while Stiede added 13 points and Broeckel 10.
