DE PERE – St. Norbert College used big finishes at the end of each half to down Rockford University in a 77-58 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference victory at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
The Green Knights (13-4, 10-0 NACC) won their sixth straight to continue their modest win streak as they swept the Regents through two meetings this season.
After both teams traded the lead in the early minutes, a three from Will Stuckey opened the gates for St. Norbert to hold the lead for the remainder of the game. Back-to-back layups from Mason Freiburger (pictured) and Stuckey gave St. Norbert a 22-11 lead with 8:06 left in the first half in what was the beginning of a 18-11 run to end the first half as the Green Knights led 36-22 at the break.
The Regents opened the second half on a 7-0 run to close the St. Norbert lead to 36-29 and making their first three shots to open the period. St. Norbert managed to hold the lead by several possessions with the Regents managing to stay within a touching distance for the first 10 minutes of the half.
The tide was turned thanks to foul trouble from Rockford, with St. Norbert converting 16 shots in the second half alone. A miss from Charlie Geske and tip-in layup from Connor Pytleski swung the momentum back in the favor of the Green Knights to make it a 56-47 game.
A three from Jaeden Grade at 2:10 gave St. Norbert its biggest lead of the night at 76-56, coming amid a 18-6 run for the Green Knights as St. Norbert closed out the game.
St. Norbert shot 53.1 percent from the floor (26-for-49) and 70 percent from the free-throw line (21-for-30). Freiburger continued his impressive scoring stretch with a 20-point outing while Stuckey had 15 points. Pytleski had 12 points and eight rebounds while Geske added 13 points from the bench.
Rockford shot 39.6 percent from the floor (21-for-53). Jaden Bell led the Regents with 12 points.