DWU men blow past Mount Marty

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team used a hot-shooting performance from Kris Menning and Jalen Voss and solid defensive play in a 76-45 rout of Mount Marty College Wednesday night at the Corn Palace.

DWU, which improved to 11-8 overall and 4-5 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, gave up just 21 second-half points and held the Lancers (3-15, 1-9) to a 20 percent clip from the field in the second half.

The Tigers got off to a hot start thanks to Menning, who went 5-for-6 from long range and scored 15 first-half points to an early lead. His fourth three of the game but DWU up 19-8 with 12:58 left in the first half, and a three-point play and a layup by Voss made it 24-13 with 7:40 remaining in the half. Menning's fifth three of the half put DWU up 31-16 with 3:20 left before halftime. The Tigers led 36-24 at the break.

DWU opened the second half on a 12-4 run to go up 20, 48-28, with 14:22 left to play. The run ended with Menning's sixth three of the game. Mount Marty cut the gap to 16, 48-32, but the Tigers went on a 14-0 run to make it a 30-point game, 62-32, with 9:15 left, and maintained that lead throughout the remainder of the game.

Menning finished the night 8-for-12 from the field, including 6-for-9 from long range, and had a game-high 24 points. Voss had 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Jade Miller also hit double digits with 14 points. The Tigers shot 43.5 percent from the field and hit 11 threes. They went 11-for-14 from the line and had 45 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

Chris Richardson led Mount Marty with 16 points and Alex Irvine added 10 points and eight rebounds. The Lancers shot 32 percent from the field and hit just two 3-pointers. They also went 11-for-14 from the line and had 28 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

DWU is on the road Saturday, Jan. 18, when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., to take on Nebraska Wesleyan University at 4 p.m.