St. Norbert College Green Knights (2-2 overall, 1-0 NACC)
at Lakeland University Muskies (3-1 overall)
Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022 7 p.m.
Woltzen Gymnasium
Lakeland/SNC Game Notes PDF
For the first time as Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference foes and the first time in nearly 30 years, the Lakeland University men's basketball team hosts St. Norbert College Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.
Broadcast Information:
Live video & live statistics:
http://www.lakelandmuskies.com/muskieslive. Andy Damp is again calling the play-by-play for all Lakeland home basketball games this year.
Series history: 83rd meeting, St. Norbert leads 51-31
A nearly dormant rivalry between two schools with a long basketball history against each other was renewed when the Green Knights joined the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in July 2021. Lakeland and St. Norbert met just once last year in SNC's first season in the NACC, with the Green Knights prevailing 65-61 Dec. 1, 2021 in De Pere. Before last season the teams had met just once in the previous 27 years, when St. Norbert topped the Muskies 69-58 in December 2010. Lakeland hasn't defeated St. Norbert since the teams' last meeting in Plymouth, a 76-59 victory Nov. 28, 1994 in the Wehr Center fieldhouse. The Muskies' rivalry with the Green Knights dates back to Lakeland's first season of playing basketball in 1933-34, when the school was known as Mission House College and St. Norbert prevailed 20-18 in the first matchup Jan. 10, 1934. The teams played at least twice a season most years from 1934-83, but St. Norbert joined the Midwest Conference in 1983 and Lakeland the Lake Michigan Conference a year later and the teams have played just four times since.
Lakeland last time out: Lost at Lawrence 82-68 Saturday
The Muskies went cold in the second half and were defeated on the road in Appleton for their first loss this season. Lakeland was in good shape for a half, leading by as many as 13 points in the first half and holding a 44-38 halftime lead. The Vikings went on a 26-4 run over the first eight minutes of the second half, though, and would go on to lead by as many as 20 points as the Muskies shot 25% in the second half, making 8 of 32 shots.
Asanjai Hunter led Lakeland with a season-high 13 points,
Christian Knox and
Aiden Polzin both scored 10 and
Isaiah Hammond added five points plus team highs with nine rebounds and six assists.
The Muskies' 68 points was well below the team's total in its first three games of the season, all decisive wins. Lakeland scored 98, 106 and 104 points in defeating Lake Forest, Finlandia and Martin Luther in getting off to a 3-0 start. Hunter did become the fourth different player in four games to lead the Muskies in scoring so far this season.
St. Norbert last time out: Defeated UW-Superior 82-72 Saturday
The Green Knights shot a steamy 58.5% from the field and won their second straight game and for the second time in five days. Garrett Grzesk scored 17 points off the bench to lead four players scoring in double figures and St. Norbert never trailed in the second half in topping the Yellowjackets in De Pere. Kyle Krueger also scored 15 points, Jamison Nickolai scored 14 off the bench and Carter Gebler added 13 points.
About the Green Knights: St. Norbert is 2-2 this season, having lost to former Midwest Conference rivals Ripon and Lawrence on the road before defeating NACC foe Concordia Wisconsin last Tuesday. In their first year in the league last year the Green Knights were NACC regular season tri-champions with an 11-6 conference record, 16-10 overall. St. Norbert is coached by Gary Grzesk, a former Lakeland head coach from 2003-06 who led the Muskies to their first and only NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 2004 before departing for St. Norbert in 2006.
Grzesk's SNC teams have won 292 games in his 16 years, claimed 10 conference titles and made seven trips to the D-III national tourney, including a Sweet 16 run in 2016. A former standout player at UW-Green Bay from 1992-96 who helped lead the Phoenix to an NCAA Tournament win in 1994, his son Garrett also is a member of the St. Norbert team. Another member of the team is Carter Gebler, the grandson of SNC's all-time leading scorer Jack Gebler, a former honorable mention NAIA All-American who played against Lakeland in a number of big games between the teams from 1967-70.
