DE PERE, Wis. – The No. 3 seed MSOE men's basketball team clashed with the No. 2 seed St. Norbert Green Knights in the NACC Tournament semifinal, as the Raiders would fall in a heartbreaker after a back-and-forth contest.

FINAL SCORE
No. 3 MSOE RAIDERS – 73

No. 2 St. Norbert - 76

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MSOE (19-8, 13-5 NACC) took an early lead over SNC (21-6, 15-3 NACC) after a three from CJ Valente in the opening minutes of the first half, but the Green Knights would go on a 12-2 run, building an early 18-9 lead over the Raiders.  Mason Dopirak would chip away at the SNC lead from the free throw line before Donovan Carter connected on back-to-back possessions to tie the game up at 25-25 with 6:39 left to play in the first half.  SNC and MSOE would trade the lead back and forth for the rest of the first half, with neither team getting a lead greater than one possession. With 22 seconds left in the half, SNC would take a five-point lead from the charity stripe, but a buzzer-beating jumper from Dopirak would end the first half at 40-37 in favor of the Green Knights.
• Valente would head to the free throw line to open the second half, bringing the Raiders within a point of the Green Knights before Valente followed it up with a three pointer on the next MSOE possession to tie the game up at 42-42.  SNC would work their way to a two-possession lead by the midway point of the second half, leading the Raiders 62-56 with less then nine minutes to play.  Carter would bring the Raiders within a point after three straight layups, including converting on an and-one, before a clutch three from Chase Cummings swung the momentum back towards the Red and White with the game tied at 64-64.  Coming down the stretch the Raiders and Green Knights exchanged makes before a key block for St. Norbert allowed them to take a two-possession lead with 1:11 left on the clock.  Dopirak would splash a three and after a couple SNC free throws, the Raiders would have the ball on the final possession with a chance to tie but were unable to convert as the Green Knights secured the 76-73 win.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points – Donovan Carter (24)
Rebounds – Mason Dopirak (8)
Assists – Mason Dopirak (5)
Steals – Ethan Johnson (3)
Blocks – Ethan Johnson (2)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders season has come to a close with an overall record of 19-8, including a 10-2 record at the Kern Center.  The Raiders posted a 13-5 conference record, highlighted by an upset of #6 Wisconsin Lutheran on February 12^th.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.