(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) RIPON – St. Norbert College rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to pick up a 74-68 win over Ripon College in a non-conference game at Willmore Center.
The Green Knights found themselves in arrears 44-27 on the first possession of the second half before a furious rally down the stretch gave the visitor a win in the 133rd meeting between the two rivals.
St. Norbert (2-0) overcame a rough first half where it shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) from the floor and 2-for-13 (15.4 percent) from distance, while Ripon made 16 of 29 field-goal attempts (55.2 percent) and 7 of 13 three-point attempts (53.8 percent) as the Red Hawks built a 42-27 halftime lead.
The Red Hawks scored the first basket of the second half before the Green Knights got themselves back into the game with a 10-0 run. Connor Pytleski split a pair of free throws, Ryan Brown hit a 3-pointer, Will Stuckey (pictured) had a couple free throws, Mason Freiburger had a basket and Stuckey’s fastbreak layup after a turnover had Ripon asking for time with 16:43 left and St. Norbert trailing 44-37.
Ripon would push the lead back to 14 at 53-39 with 13:44 left and still had a 56-46 edge with 11:41 to go. The Green Knights then came again with a 9-0 run, with Reid Rosseland getting five points and Brown a conventional three-point play to cut it to 56-55 with 9:15 left. St. Norbert still couldn’t grab the lead, with Ripon leading 62-57 with 4:37 left. A Jaeden Grade 3-pointer, Pytleski free throw and another Grade trey finally got the Green Knights over the hump to lead 64-62.
The Red Hawks got a triple from Jackson Flowers to briefly retake the lead, but Grade’s hoop with 2:08 to go put St. Norbert ahead for good at 66-65. The Gren Knights then got four-straight defensive stops while Stuckey had a pair of baskets and Pytleski a pair of free throws to salt away the win.
St. Norbert shot a lusty 65.2 percent (15-for-23) from the floor in the second half and ended up 24-for-50 (48 percent) for the game. Stuckey finished with 23 points, while Pytleski added 12 points and seven rebounds. Brown and Rosseland had 10 points apiece.
Ripon finished 27-for-56 (48.2 percent) from the floor. Joey Daun led the Red Hawks with 16 points, with 13 coming in the first half.
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