The Pioneers held a 36-28 halftime lead after dominating a first half in which they led by as many as 14 points. They outscored Lawrence 19-6 in the opening 7:31 and extended the lead to 28-14 with 7:32 to play in the opening half.
The Vikings, the only undefeated men’s basketball team in the country at 24-0, slowly whittled away at the lead in the second half, eventually tying the score at 42-42 on a Ryan Kroeger three pointer with 11:06 remaining in the game. Lawrence then took its first lead of the game (45-44) a few minutes later on a Chris Braier basket and free throw at 9:04.
Lawrence would lead for the next five-plus minutes before Carroll tied the score (53-53) for the final time on a Nathan Drury lay-up with 3:36 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Kroeger 13 seconds later gave Lawrence a lead (55-53) they would not relinquish the rest of the way. They extended the lead to seven points at 2:37. Carroll pulled to within three points at 65-62 with 51 seconds remaining but could get no closer.
The Vikings earned their third consecutive Midwest Conference Tournament Championship and third automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Carroll, ranked #15 in the nation with a 21-4 record, is seeking an at-large bid to earn the team’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The tournament bracket will be announced at 7:00 a.m. Central Standard Time at www.ncaasports.com.
Seniors Jason Scheper and James Johnson led Carroll with 15 points each while junior Paul Toshner added 10 points.
Braier led the Vikings with a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. Kroeger and Ben Klekamp came off the bench to score 14 and 10 points, respectively.