Fierst's 20 points not enough in 72-55 loss to Viterbo
LA CROSSE, Wis. – In their first road test of the year, the Clarke University men's basketball team was defeated 72-55 against Viterbo University.
Jacob Fierst led the way with 20 points on 7-18 shooting off the bench for the Pride, but no one else surpassed double-digits. Jake Layman and Chris Burnell each scored seven and Biggie Luster led the way with 11 rebounds.
The V-Hawks jumped out to an early 15-6 lead halfway through the first, but Clarke would go on a 12-2 run to take an 18-17 lead at the 7:13 mark. The rest of the first half would see multiple lead changes, including an eight-point Clarke lead, until the final two minutes when VU took control on a 14-3 run to lead 41-30 at the intermission.
Fierst scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half as he shot 5-10 (50%) from the floor, including 3-5 (60%) from three-point range in only 13 minutes of action. The rest of the Pride would shoot just 5-16 (31.2%) on field goals and 1-7 (14.2%) from deep.
The second half was similar to the first in that the Pride were down early and needed to make a run to get back in it, but they would only get as close as 40-46 with 14:48 to play. Viterbo would outscore Clarke 26-15 the rest of the half and would jump up to as much as 19 points with just under three minutes left in regulation.
CU would finish the evening shooting 20-54 (37%) and 5-20 (25%) from beyond the arc. VU shot 27-60 (45%) and 4-15 (26.7%) from deep. Although Clarke did have a 36-33 rebound and 35-11 bench points advantage, Viterbo was able to punish in the paint with a 40-22 edge.
Leading the way for the V-Hawks was Jack Monis' 20 points on 9-14 (64.2%) shooting and five rebounds. Ben Olson and Nick Malovrh each had 15 points in 30 minutes of action. Point guard Dakota Mannel was three points shy of a double-double with seven points and 10 assists.
The Pride will have a week to prepare for their next matchup as they'll host St. Ambrose University on Wednesday, Nov. 8th beginning at 7:00 P.M. CST.