DE PERE - St. Norbert College picked up a key early-season win in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference race when it topped fellow league contender Concordia University Chicago 86-80 in a frenetic contest at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights (4-0, 1-0 NACC), who have won 17 of their last 18 games dating back to last season, held off a Concordia (1-3) squad that erased a double-digit deficit to briefly take a second-half lead.

St. Norbert had trailed 14-11 just over six minutes into the game before going on a 13-0 run over the next 5:38. Garrett Grzesk had five points in the skein and Carter Gebler's jumper in the lane put the Green Knights ahead 24-14 with 8:36 left in the half. St. Norbert built three 11-point leads after that, the last at 37-26 with 3:01 left. The Cougars would then get a key run after that, going on an 11-2 run to close within 39-37 at halftime.

The Green Knights opened the second half on a quick 8-0 run behind a conventional three-point play from Evan Glaser, a 3 by Grzesk and a layup by Glaser for a 47-37 lead with 18:13 to go. The Cougars slowly worked their way back into the game to trail 57-55 with 13:02 left. Concordia would eventually grab a brief lead at 62-61 with 8:17 left on a pair of Jacob Collicott free throws, but Aidan Harrington responded on the next possession to put St. Norbert back ahead for good.

Concordia would get to within 72-69 with 4:16 left after an Emanuel Wilson fast break layup, but Glaser drained a pair of free throws on the next trip. A tough jumper in the paint by Kyle Krueger gave St. Norbert a 76-69 lead with 2:35 left. Concordia scored on its next trip, but Jamison Nickolai splashed a 3-pointer with 1:55 left to give St. Norbert momentum. Glaser's basket just under a minute left put St. Norbert ahead 81-73 and the Green Knights made five of six free throws the rest of the way to seal the win.

St. Norbert shot a lusty 56.6 percent (30-for-53) from the floor and was a season-best 21-for-26 (80.8 percent) at the free-throw line. The Green Knights also held a commanding 42-19 rebounding advantage. Nickolai posted 22 points and nine rebounds, while Glaser had 20 points and 12 rebounds. Harrington added 14 points and five rebounds, with 12 of his points coming in the second half.

Concordia shot 46.7 percent (28-for-60) from the floor, was 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from distance and committed just four turnovers. Collicott and Wilson had 15 points apiece, while Justin Greenlee added 13 points.