Gary Grzesk
St. Norbert College set a record for consecutive wins against conference opponents by a NCAA Division III school when it won for the 62nd-straight time against a Midwest Conference opponent with a 72-62 win over Cornell College.
The Green Knights (21-2, 18-0 MWC) surpassed the previous record of 61, held since the late 1950’s by Wheaton (Ill.) College in College Conference of Illinois play. St. Norbert has not lost against a MWC foe since a 104-99 overtime loss on Feb. 9, 2013 at Grinnell College.
St. Norbert also finished 18-0 in the Midwest Conference’s regular season for the third consecutive year, the only three times in the 95-year history of the league a men’s basketball team has won 18 games in conference play.
“I’m very happy for this year’s current team, as well as the players and teams that came before this group even started,” St. Norbert coach Gary Grzesk said. “Those groups laid the foundation for what the current group has accomplished.
“This program is the players’ program. They’ve worked hard for everything they’ve earned.”
Cornell put a scare into the Green Knights late in the game when the Rams’ Jan Siegien drained a 3-pointer with 4:28 left to tie the game at 60.
The Green Knights would close the game on a 12-2 run to finish with a perfect conference record.
St. Norbert College shot 49-percent from the field. Forward Ben Bobinski led all scorers with 25 points.