APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University men's basketball team rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit Saturday to defeat defending Midwest Conference champion Illinois College 77-75 in double overtime at Alexander Gymnasium.
   Lawrence's Landon Key hit the go-ahead jumper with 32 seconds left in the second overtime and then stole the ball from Illinois College standout Buzz Ritzel in the final seconds to seal the victory.
   Lawrence (4-6, 2-2 MWC) got a game-high 21 points and seven rebounds from Casey Schoenecker, who went 10-for-14 from the floor. Nathan Valentine had 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Key finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three steals. Hogan Demovsky came off the bench to score 12 points for the Vikings.
   Ritzel paced Illinois College (6-3, 1-2) with 20 points.
   Illinois College led 52-33 with 11:43 left before Lawrence went on a 20-7 run to trim the advantage to six. Schoenecker and Key started the run with layup, and Demovsky and Valentine both hit 3-pointers to cut the margin to 56-43. After another Schoenecker layup, Demovsky converted a three-point play to pull the Vikings to within 56-48. Lawrence finished the run with a pair of Caleb Nash free throws to cut the margin to 59-53 with 4:26 remaining.
    Lawrence was still down six when Key hit another 3-pointer to cut the margin to 61-58 with 1:35 left in regulation. Lawrence cut the lead to 62-60 on a pair of Valentine free throws and then Jake Hoyt missed a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left. 
    The Vikings went for the win but missed a 3-pointer. Lawrence retained possession and took advantage on the inbounds play. Nash found Schoenecker under the basket for a layup to tie the game with three seconds left. The Blueboys missed a half-court shot at the buzzer.
    Lawrence jumped out to a 69-64 lead in the overtime as Valentine drilled a 3-pointer with 2:34 left. The Blueboys clawed back and tied the game at 69-69 on a pair of Ritzel free throws. Lawrence grabbed the lead back on Schoenecker's layup with 41 seconds remaining. Josh Harris answered with a jumper to tie the game at 71-71 with 27 seconds remaining. The Vikings then missed a 3-pointer, and Illinois College's half-court shot at the buzzer caromed off the rim.
    Illinois College led 75-73 in the second overtime before a Schoenecker free throw with 1:22 remaining. Lawrence got a defensive stop and worked the ball to Key in the lane on the ensuing possession. He hit a turnaround jumper with 32 seconds left to give Lawrence a 76-75 lead. 
    Ritzel then missed a 3-pointer, and Illinois College was forced to foul. Nicholas Gouriotis went to the line for the Vikings and made one foul shot with 16 seconds remaining to put the Vikings up 77-75. Illinois College went to Ritzel to try for the tying basket, but Key picked his pocket with a clean steal right in front of the Blueboys' bench with three seconds left to seal the victory.
    Lawrence returns home for a nonconference game on Dec. 21 against Dominican University before taking a break for the holidays.