DE PERE - It was the best of times and the worst of times for St. Norbert College men's basketball, but the better half ended up telling the tale of two halves as the Green Knights topped Rockford University 73-59 at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.
St. Norbert (9-7, 6-3 NACC) built a 51-29 halftime lead and survived a 22-point second-half output to claim the victory. The Green Knights canned 17 of 29 (58.6) percent of their first-half field-goal attempts, including 11-for-16 (68.8 percent) from distance. St. Norbert then shot 6-for-21 (28.6 percent) from the floor in the second half and was 1-for-8 (12.5 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Green Knights opened the game red hot, scoring canning 3-pointers on four consecutive possessions to build leads of 10-0 and 16-5.
Michael Payant,
Carter Gebler,
Garrett Grzesk and Gebler again canned 3s during the opening run. The Regents would then go on a 9-2 run to get to within 18-14, but
Aidan Harrington's trey stemmed the tide.
St. Norbert held a 33-26 lead with 5:06 left in the first half, but Grzesk drained 3-pointers on three-straight possessions to jumpstart an 18-3 run to close out the half. Another Grzesk triple put the Green Knights ahead 49-29 with 25 seconds left, and
Evan Glaser's tip-in just beat the halftime buzzer for a 51-29 advantage.
Rockford opened the second half on an 18-5 run to get to within 56-47 with 11:27 to go.
Brandt Wilson's hoop, a Harrington free throw and a Grzesk 3-pointer put St. Norbert back ahead 62-47 with 8:24 to go. The Regents would only get back to within single digits for just one possession late in the game the rest of the way.
St. Norbert finished shooting 46 percent (23-for-50) from the floor for the game and was an even 12-for-24 from three-point range. Grzesk posted a career-high 23 points and had seven 3-pointers, one shy of matching the school record. Glaser added 14 points, while Gebler totaled 13 points. Payant flirted with a triple-double with nine points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Rockford shot 41.1 percent (23-for-56) from the floor. Amareon Parker had a team-high 11 points, while Kevin Diemer added 10 points.
