Biggie shines in 82-71 victory over Grand View

DUBUQUE, Iowa – Led by Biggie Luster's 28 points and school-record 22 rebounds, the Clarke University men's basketball team were able to defeat the Grand View Vikings 82-71 Monday evening in the Kehl Center.

Luster and sophomore Stefan Vasic would start this game on fire as Luster would end the first half already having a double-double netting 18 points on 6-9 (66.7%) shooting and grabbing 13 rebounds. Vasic, starting his first game of the season, would help the Pride go into the locker room with a 39-26 advantage thanks to his 10 points on 4-7 (57.1%) shooting.

Pushing their lead out to 22 points early in the second half, the last 20 minutes would look eerily similar to the first, as Luster and Vasic would continue to put their stamp on the game.

Luster would finish with his career high of 28 points on 10-16 (62.5%) shooting and put his name on top of a record that has stood for 25 years by finishing with 22 rebounds.

Vasic would score his career high by netting 24 points on an efficient 9-15 (60%) shooting, including 3-5 (60%) from beyond the three-point arc.

The Vikings would make a push at a comeback and had the Pride lead down to just four points multiple times, including with 3:50 remaining in regulation. However the Pride would finish out the game on a 12-5 scoring run and put the Vikings away to pick up their sixth conference win of the season.

"Our best skill is being competitive and we did that tonight," Clarke head coach Jim Blaine said. "Proud of the "next man up" mentality with another starter missing tonight. Stef was great as a spot starter. Obviously, Biggie with a 28 and 22 rebound performance is hard to ignore."

Up next, the Pride will travel to Oskaloosa, Iowa for a February 8th matchup against William Penn and a 7:30 pm tip.