DeValk Powers St. Norbert Past Cornell

From Asst. AD/Athletics Communications, December 9, 2017 | Men's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

DE PERE - St. Norbert College survived a cold-shooting afternoon thanks to the play of senior guard D.J. DeValk, as the Green Knights went on to top Cornell College 61-51 in a Midwest Conference game at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

DeValk pumped in a career-high 30 points just three days after scoring a then-career high 27 points on Wednesday in a 73-59 win at Lawrence University. DeValk canned six 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the free-throw line to score nearly half of the Green Knights' points.

St. Norbert, which won its 32nd consecutive Saturday home game, was sluggish early, with Cornell taking a 19-10 lead with 6:30 left in the first half. DeValk then got red-hot from the floor, getting the Green Knights back into the game by hitting 3-pointers on the next two possessions. DeValk canned another jumper and hit a 3-pointer to finish off a personal 11-2 run to knot the score at 21-21.

Cornell (4-3, 2-2) scored a pair of baskets but DeValk hit another trifecta before halftime to allow St. Norbert, which shot 33.3 percent (9-for-27) in the second half, to trail just 26-24 at halftime.

The Rams pushed their lead out to five points at 31-26 in the early stages of the second half before St. Norbert went on an 11-0 run. Joe Ciriacks' 3-pointer with 16:05 left put St. Norbert ahead 33-31, while Brian Luteyn and Taylor Penn added hoops for a 37-31 lead at the 15:14 mark. Cornell's Cody Carter hit a 3-pointer, but St. Norbert answered with baskets from Joe Lemon and a 3-pointer by DeValk to take a 42-34 edge with 14:17 left.

St. Norbert would then go the next 7:05 without a field goal before DeValk broke the drought to put St. Norbert up 47-44. Cornell would cut the deficit to one three more times, but St. Norbert would score on each ensuing possession to go up three. Cornell trailed 53-51 with 3:09 left, but St. Norbert made all eight of its free-throw attempts the rest of the way to secure the win.

Ciriacks joined DeValk as the two St. Norbert players in double figures with 10 points. The Green Knights finished 20-for-57 (35.1 percent) from the floor but were 13-for-14 (92.9 percent) at the free-throw line.

Cornell was led by 15 points from Keegan Van Kooten, while Jon Anderson added 13 points and Jan Siegien 10 points. The Rams, who outrebounded the Green Knights 40-33, were plagued by 19 turnovers. Cornell shot 35.3 percent (18-for-51) from the floor.