DWU men end regular season with big win over Lancers

YANKTON, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team wrapped up its regular-season schedule on a high note Wednesday night, blowing past in-state and Great Plains Athletic Conference rival Mount Marty College 87-52 in Yankton, S.D.

The Tigers – who have a bye Saturday on the final day of GPAC play – end the regular season 17-13 overall and in fifth in the league with a 10-10 mark. DWU is a game ahead of Nebraska Wesleyan, which is 9-10 in the conference. The Prairie Wolves play Mount Marty Saturday in Yankton. Pairings for the GPAC tournament will be announced Saturday night.

Dakota Wesleyan had no trouble with the Lancers Wednesday night and jumped to a 14-2 lead less than four minutes into the game thanks to threes from Luke Bamberg, Tate Martin and Trae Bergh. The Tigers also dominated the boards early, and at one point had seven straight offensive rebounds in a single possession.

A three by Bamberg made it a 15-point game, and Bergh hit a three with 5:27 left in the first half to put DWU up 19, 35-16. Jalen Voss scored on a layup to give DWU its first 20-point lead of the game, and a three by Jade Miller made it 42-20 with 3:02 left in the half. Miller added a dunk and a jumper to end the half and put the Tigers up 23, 46-23.

Dakota Wesleyan kept up its fast pace in the second half, and a three by Kris Menning put the Tigers up 30, 53-23, with 17:45 left to play. DWU was able to maintain a nearly 30-point lead for the remainder of the game.

Bergh finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists to lead DWU, which shot 46.5 percent from the field, including 53.3 percent in the first half. He hit three of the Tigers' 11 3-pointers. Menning and Miller each added 15 points, Voss finished with 14 and Bamberg added 11 points. DWU outrebounded the Lancers 36-27, including a 14-2 margin on the offensive glass, and had just five turnovers.

Alex Irvine (12) and Chris Richardson (11) were the only players to score in double digits for Mount Marty, which is 4-23 overall and 2-17 in the GPAC. Richardson also had nine rebounds. The Lancers shot 48.8 percent from the field, but hit just one 3-pointer. Mount Marty had 17 turnovers.