WAUKESHA, Wis. -- The 18th-ranked Lawrence University men's basketball team pulled away midway through the second half and kept Carroll College at arm's length Saturday to post a 92-80 Midwest Conference victory at Van Male Fieldhouse.
All five Lawrence (20-2, 15-1 MWC) starters finished in double figures, but John Dekker came off the bench to pace the Vikings with 18 points. Wes Ladwig paced Carroll (14-8, 10-6) with 25 points.
The seeds are now set for next weekend's Midwest Conference Tournament, which will be played at Lawrence on Feb. 29-March 1. Top seed Lawrence will face St. Norbert College in one semifinal, and Carroll faces Grinnell College in the other semifinal.
The game was tied for the ninth time when Ladwig scored with 17:22 left in the contest, and Lawrence responded by scoring the game's next seven points to lead 61-54.
Lawrence led 66-60 with 12:44 remaining when Ryan Kroeger drilled a 3-pointer for the Vikings. Kroeger then got a steal and layup, and Dekker made a pair of free throws to give Lawrence its largest lead, 13 points, at 73-60 with 11:53 left.
Carroll closed to seven points at 76-69, but Doug Kadison countered with a 3-pointer for the Vikings. Carroll never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Kroeger and Ben Rosenblatt finished with 16 points apiece for the Vikings. Kadison added 14 points and had team highs with seven rebounds and four assists. Chris Page chipped in with 12 points, and Andy Hurley had 10.
This marks the fifth time in Lawrence history that the Vikings have won 20 games in a season. Lawrence also broke a three-game losing streak against the Pioneers.