Voss headlines DWU men’s All-GPAC honorees

MITCHELL, S.D. – It was no surprise to anyone the Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team played this season that Jalen Voss was the Tigers' go-to guy.

The junior forward got it done in the paint for the Tigers this season, and wasn't afraid to step back and shoot a three – despite being double teamed many games.

Therefore, it was no surprise to anyone who watched DWU play this season that the Worthington, Minn., native was named to the All-Great Plains Athletic Conference First Team when the league's year-end honors were announced Wednesday morning.

Voss was one of four players to earn an All-GPAC nod for the Tigers. Sophomore Trae Bergh was named to the second team and junior Kris Menning and redshirt freshman Tate Martin earned honorable mention accolades. This is the third honor for Voss and the first for Bergh, Martin and Menning.

This is the second straight first-team honor for Voss, who was named to the top team as a sophomore and earned honorable mention as a freshman. He led the team in both scoring (20.9) and rebounding (7.4) and was second in the conference in both categories. He also finished the year 18^th in the NAIA in scoring per game and second in the GPAC with nine double-doubles. Voss, who had 38 blocked shots, led the team in scoring 17 teams and in rebounding 15 times, including a career-high 34 points against Hastings on Feb. 15.

Voss, who shot .560 from the field, is also looking for a second straight NAIA All-American honor after being named an honorable mention All-American as a sophomore in 2013.

Bergh, a Crooks, S.D., native, set the tone for his sophomore season in the first game of the year when he scored a career-high 43 points and tied the school record with 10 3-pointers in a game against Trinity Bible on Nov. 4 at the Corn Palace. That was the beginning of a breakout year for Bergh, who finished third in the NAIA in threes per game (3.4) and fourth in total threes (108). He also finished sixth in the NAIA in assist/turnover ratio (3.5).

Bergh finished first in the GPAC in threes and threes per game, and second in three-point percentage (.441). He was second on the team in scoring at 16.6 points per game, and also had 5.1 rebounds and 98 assists.

Menning, a junior from Corsica, S.D., missed the first few weeks of the season due to an injury, but came back and made his way back into the starting lineup for Dakota Wesleyan. He ended the year averaging 16.1 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds per game and 60 total assists. He was seventh in the conference with 65 total 3-pointers, and was second on the team with 18 blocked shots.

Martin, a Mitchell native, flourished in his return to his home court this season. After transferring from the University of Mary after the first semester of his freshman season, he started in 28 of 30 games played and led the GPAC with 185 total assists and 6.1 assists per game – both good for seventh in the nation. He also finished ninth in the NAIA with a 3.2 assist/turnover ratio, and recorded 14 assists in the first game of his collegiate career on Nov. 4.

Martin averaged 6.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game and also had 25 steals for the Tigers.

DWU, which was picked to finish ninth in the league's preseason poll, finished 18-14 overall and 10-10 and in sixth in the conference. The Tigers upset third-seeded Midland University in the first round of the postseason tournament and went to overtime with Morningside College where it lost on a last-second shot. Dakota Wesleyan returns everyone from its roster for the 2014-15 season.