APPLETON, Wisconsin – Junior Matthew Kirmse scored 27 points and the MSOE men's basketball team shot 50 percent from the field in cruising to a 73-53 victory over Lawrence Saturday afternoon at Alexander Gymnasium.

The Raiders (2-0) took the lead for good just over five minutes into the game and opened a nine-point halftime lead on the Vikings (1-3) before opening a lead as large as 20 in the second half.

Kirmse finished 11-of-16 from the field with four made three-pointers in the game. Junior Travis Ballard also reached double-digits in scoring with 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting and junior Jake Gebert grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds in the game.

Mason Materna led Lawrence with 15 points while Bryce Denham added 11.

The hosts scored first and briefly held a 6-4 lead before the Red & White scored six-straight points to surge ahead for good. MSOE gradually built a 10-point lead on several occasions in the opening half and went into the intermission with a 40-31 advantage.

After halftime, the Raiders continued to pull away, taking a 61-41 lead on a Ballard three-pointer with 11:54 remaining in regulation. The Vikings would then pull no closer than 13 down the stretch.

A week after shooting a blistering 65.3 percent from the field in its season-opener, MSOE was 29-for-58 from the field at LU. The team converted on 6-of-15 three-point attempts and finished 9-of-12 at the free throw line. The Red & White also grabbed a decisive 43-29 rebounding advantage.

Defensively, Lawrence was limited to 34.9 percent shooting and just 6-for-22 from beyond the arc. The Raiders also sent the home team to the free throw line just six times.

MSOE gets another week off before returning to the floor with a weekend trip through Illinois. The road trip kicks off at Knox Saturday with a Sunday tilt at Monmouth on deck.