(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) DE PERE – St. Norbert College led wire-to-wire in a 83-72 victory against Aurora University in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament quarterfinal at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center, highlighted by seniors Jamison Nickolai (pictured) and Garrett Grzesk netting 1,000 career points in the win.
The Green Knights (20-6) rushed out to an early 16-2 lead in the first six minutes behind eight points from Nickolai. The Spartans got within seven points of the lead several times, going on a run themselves to cut the St. Norbert lead down to 18-11 at 10:31. Paint points from Brandt Wilson and 3-point shooting from Nickolai and Cole Uhlenbrauck put St. Norbert up 34-22 with 5:29 before halftime.
The Green Knights finished the half on a 9-0 run in the final 1:20 of the half to go up 44-26. Will Stuckey had five points in that span while Nickolai added four more to his tally.
An 8-0 run started the second half for the Green Knights, putting St. Norbert up 52-26 with 18:01 remaining. Two free throws from Aidan Harrington put St. Norbert up by as many as 31 points at 14:46. Although 3-point shots were still falling for Uhlenbrauck and Grzesk in the second half, Aurora shot the ball particularly well in the second half and came to within a 80-69 deficit with 1:19 remaining.
Grzesk hit the dagger with 28 seconds left with another 3-pointer to hit 1,000 career points, giving St. Norbert a 83-69 lead.
St. Norbert shot 48.3 percent (29-for-60) from the floor. Nickolai reached his plateau of 1,000 career points with a team-high 24 points, shooting 9-of-14 from the floor and going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. Wilson recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Harrington and Grzesk both had 13.
St. Norbert outrebounded Aurora 35-27.
With the win, head coach Gary Grzesk has now reached the 20-win mark in 10 of his 18 seasons in De Pere.
Aurora shot 50 percent (25-for-50) from the floor. Joevonn McCottry had a game-high 30 points.
The Green Knights will host Milwaukee School of Engineering in a NACC Tournament semifinal on Friday, February 28 at 7 p.m.
