JACKSONVILLE, Ill. -- Senior guards Brad Sendell and Brandon Danowski combined for 47 points Saturday to lead the Lawrence University men's basketball team to an 80-69 Midwest Conference victory over Illinois College at Sherman Gymnasium.
    Sendell poured in 29 points as he went 8-for-12 from the floor and 11-for-13 from the foul line. Danowski scored 18 points as he went 6-for-13 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Lawrence went 10-for-23 (43.5 percent) from beyond the arc in the game.
    Matthew Kaznikov scored 11 points off the bench and grabbed five rebounds for Lawrence (4-4, 3-1 MWC). Adnan Sarancic, Elliot Jung and Jake Fisher pulled down seven rebounds apiece to pace the Vikings.
    Tre Rogers led Illinois College (5-6, 1-3) with 17 points. Lawrence limited Illinois College to 35.7 percent shooting from the floor, and that included 30 percent (6-20) from 3-point range.
    The game was tight throughout the early going of the second half, but Lawrence turned the tide in its favor with great defense and a big scoring run. 
    The Vikings trailed 52-49 before Kaznikov's jumper with 13:12 remaining cut the lead to one. After an Illinois College miss, Danowski drained a 3-pointer to give the Vikings the lead for good at 54-52. The teams traded misses before Danowski's layup pushed the lead to 56-52, and Julian DeGuzman followed with a jumper to put the Vikings up 58-52 with 8:39 left.
    Lawrence then broke the Blueboys' back with back-to-back 3-pointers from Danowski and Sarancic to grab a 64-62 advantage with 6:38 remaining. Sendell capped the 17-0 scoring run with a jumper for a 66-52 lead with 4:52 left. 
    A pair of Michael Adams free throws finally broke the scoreless streak for Illinois College, but it was too little too late as Lawrence held the Blueboys without a point for 9:03.
    Illinois College trimmed the lead to 74-67 with just under a minute left, but the Vikings then hit four consecutive free throws to seal the victory.
    Lawrence returns to nonconference play on Tuesday when the Vikings host UW-Eau Claire.