APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team used a late rally to post a 75-67 Midwest Conference victory over Knox College Saturday afternoon at Alexander Gymnasium.
John Dekker recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds to pace Lawrence (10-10, 7-6 MWC). Erik Borresen added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Tyler Crisman had 14 points and five assists for the Vikings.
Tanner Carlson led Knox (2-17, 2-10) with 16 points, and Joe Kozak and Ben Wetherbee had 14 points apiece.
It looked like it might be a blowout as the Vikings bolted to a 16-2 lead with 15:24 left in the first half. Knox responded by hitting 8 of 11 3-pointers in the first half and took a 39-37 lead with 1:38 left. Jon Mays' layup with 45 seconds left gave Lawrence a 39-39 tie at the break.
Knox shot 72.7 percent on 3-pointers in the opening half, but the Prairie Fire connected on only 26.1 percent (6-23) of the rest of its shots from the field in the opening 20 minutes. Knox did not hit a 3-pointer (0-7) in the second half.
Knox took its first lead of the game on Kozak's jumper with 18:43 left. The Prairie Fire led by as many as four points, but Lawrence reclaimed the lead for good at 48-47 on Borresen's layup with 14:50 remaining.
The Vikings went on a 9-0 run, capped by Dekker's 3-pointer, to lead 55-47 with 11:55 left.
Knox trimmed the lead back to 55-51, but Lawrence went on a 13-6 run to take command. Dustin Lee, who handed out five assists, capped the run by hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Vikings up 68-57 with 3:33 remaining.
Knox cut the lead back to five points at 68-63, but the Vikings scored the next four points to seal the win.
The Vikings return to action next Saturday when they travel to St. Norbert College.