Bergh named GPAC player-of-the-week

MITCHELL, S.D. – In his first season with the Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team, Trae Bergh scored seven points and saw playing time in seven games.

Bergh matched his freshman-year scoring total six times over in the team's first game, and hasn't looked back. Bergh, a Crooks, S.D., native, is second on the team in scoring, and has come up big for the Tigers in several games this season.

Bergh, a 6-foot-1 guard, came up especially big for Dakota Wesleyan in a pair of wins last week. He led the team in scoring to lead the Tigers to a season sweep of Dakota State University on Dec. 30, and followed that up with 22 points in DWU's upset of sixth-ranked Hastings Jan. 4. For his key performances, Bergh has been named the Great Plains Athletic Conference Player-of-the-Week, it was announced by the league Tuesday morning.

This is the first weekly GPAC honor of Bergh's career. It comes after he averaged 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals per game on the week to help DWU push its winning streak to five games. The pair of wins also pushed the Tigers' record to 10-7 overall and 3-4 in the GPAC.

Monday, Bergh scored a team-high 24 points and hit five 3-pointers to help Dakota Wesleyan to an 80-72 win over in-state rival Dakota State. The win was the second of the season over DSU for the Tigers, who upset the Trojans – then ranked No. 18 in the NAIA – 85-76 earlier this season at the Corn Palace.

Bergh followed that performance with 22 points, including four more 3-pointers, against Hastings College Saturday afternoon at the Corn Palace. He also had five rebounds, four assists and four steals to help the Tigers upset the Broncos and hand them just their fourth loss of the year.

Bergh is currently second on the team in scoring at 16.2 points per game. He also averaged 4.6 rebounds per game and is second with 54 assists and has a team-high 20 steals in 17 games played. Bergh, who tied the school record with 10 3-pointers in a game against Trinity Bible College, is second in the NAIA in threes made (60) and third in 3-pointers per game (3.5).

Dakota Wesleyan is on the road Wednesday, Jan. 8, when it travels to Orange City, Iowa, to take on Northwestern College. The Red Raiders are currently 9-8 overall and 2-5 and right below the Tigers in eighth in the GPAC standings. DWU hasn't won against Northwestern since Feb. 16, 2011, when Chase Walder hit a last-second three to left the Tigers to a 90-87 upset of the 10^th-ranked Red Raiders.