(ST NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) RIPON – St. Norbert College recovered from a slow start with a dominating second half as the Green Knights gained a 67-59 win in the 131st meeting against longtime rival Ripon College in a non-conference game at Willmore Center.
The Green Knights (2-0) trailed 20-6 just over nine minutes into the game but battled back to trail by just eight at halftime, with Jaeden Grade’s 3-pointer just beating the buzzer to make it 36-28 at the break.
St. Norbert turned up the defense to open the second half, going on a 19-2 run over the first 8:50 to take a 47-38 lead. Jamison Nickolai opened the scoring with a conventional three-point play, followed by a Brandt Wilson (pictured) layup. Aidan Harrington’s 3-pointer off a Wilson offensive rebound knotted the game at 36-36 with 16:11 to go. The Green Knights then took a 38-36 lead on a Harrington fastbreak layup. Ripon stopped the bleeding with a hoop, but Charlie Geske’s two free throws and another Harrington basket gave St. Norbert a 42-38 lead with 14:37 left. Nickolai splashed a 3-pointer and Wilson split a pair of free throws for a 47-38 lead with 11:10 to go.
Ripon (2-2) would soon cut its deficit down to two points twice, including 49-47 with 8:35 left. Wilson converted a conventional three-point play at 7:54 for a 52-47 lead. Following a pair of Red Hawks free throws, Wilson again scored inside and Nickolai hit a pair of free throws for a 56-49 edge with 6:56 left.
St. Norbert held a 61-53 lead after a Connor Pytleski basket with 3:32 left, but Ripon would make a last-ditch rally to close to 61-59 with 53 seconds left. The Green Knights would make 6 of 8 free throws the rest of the way to close out the win.
The Green Knights shot 44.7 percent from the floor, making 21 of 47 field-goal attempts, and were 21-for-33 (63.6 percent) at the free-throw line. Nickolai had 12 points, Harrington 11 points and Pytleski 10 points and eight rebounds. Wilson finished with nine points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Ripon shot 19-for-64 (29.7 percent) from the floor, including 7-for-34 (20.6 percent) in the second half. Cade Tackmier led the Red Hawks with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
CARTHAGE COLLEGE 69, ST. NORBERT 68
DE PERE – St. Norbert College rallied multiple times against Carthage College in a non-conference contest at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center, but could not get past the Firebirds in overtime, dropping a hard-fought contest 69-68.
The game came down to one final possession from the Green Knights, who were unable to find a buzzer beater to end the game.
Rose Hahn scored the first five points of the game for St. Norbert, taking a 5-0 lead in less than two minutes. Carthage would respond with a 6-0 run of its own to take a slim lead, but the Green Knights would respond with two shots from Casey Jepson (pictured) to retake a 10-8 lead after being shut down for nearly five minutes.
The Firebirds took a 10-point lead early in the second quarter, but a 14-2 burst lead by Taylor Thiry gave the Green Knights the lead back at the half, 28-26.
After that run, St. Norbert would not find a single point until halfway into the third quarter, as Carthage went up by 11 points. The Green Knights were able to pull themselves out of a hole once again, not allowing any Carthage points in the final two minutes of the quarter and coming within five points.
A Rose Hahn jumper at 6:49 in the fourth quarter tied the game, while a Jepson layup gave St. Norbert its first lead since the beginning of the third.
After losing the lead again, Kalina Winslow would hit a perfectly timed three-pointer with just over a minute left in regulation, knotting the score at 54
apiece.
A three pointer from Carthage meant that the Green Knights would need one themselves to send the game into overtime, and with just three seconds remaining, Jepson nailed her third three pointer of the night to tie the game at 58.
Both teams traded the lead several times in the overtime period, but Carthage was able to take the lead with under two minutes remaining before Oakley Witteck tied the game with 40 seconds to play, 68-68.
However, a foul with one second left sent Carthage to the free throw line, making one of two shots to down the Green Knights, 69-68.
St. Norbert was 27-for-62 (43.5 percent) from the floor and outrebounded Carthage 48-37.
Thiry had a double-double performance, scoring 19 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. She has led the Green Knights in scoring in all four games this season.
Jepson had 17 points, while Hahn had 11 points and provided five assists.
The Firebirds shot 25-for-68 (36.8 percent) from the field. Four players had double-digit nights, including Marianna Morrissey who had a team-high 16 points.
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