Viterbo defeats Clarke in game one of Viterbo University Invitational

By Chris Porter, V-Hawk Contributor

LA CROSSE, Wis. - The old adage 'basketball is a game of runs' proved to be alive and well on Thursday night when the Viterbo University Men's Basketball team hosted the Clarke University Pride in game one of the Viterbo Invitational. The V-Hawks (1-2) defeated the Pride, 70-67.

Clarke opened up a 19-14 lead against the V-Hawks in the first half. Clarke's Josh Meier scored 18 of his game-high 22 points in the first half and looked virtually unstoppable until the Viterbo defense was able to hold him to only four points in the second half. The game remained tight until the V-Hawks put Noah Fredrickson (Sr. - Onalaska, Wis.) in the game with 8 minutes to play in the half. Frederickson needed only 4 minutes to score 8 points including two three-point shots. He would end the night with 11 points, include three baskets from behind the arc. Viterbo went into the locker room at halftime with a healthy 47-39 lead.

Clarke University slowly cut into the V-Hawk lead in the second half and with 1:40 to play tied the game at 65. That was when Brady Polk (Jr. - Berlin, Wis.) stepped up. Polk hit a clutch three-point shot to go up 3 with less than 90 seconds to play. When asked about what has prepared him to come up big in crucial moments Polk said, "It's about putting in the work, day in and day out. My coaches put in a great position and they have a lot of confidence in me."

The Viterbo V-Hawks (2-2) will take on Cardinal Stritch University on Saturday, November 21 at 3:00 p.m. When asked about how he will spend his off day between games Polk said, "Going to rest up and come watch [Cardinal Stritch] play. We already played them earlier but we still want to scout them as we look forward to our next game."

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