Tiger men hold on against Briar Cliff

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team overcame some late adversity – and controversy – Wednesday night and held on for an 84-81 upset victory over Briar Cliff University at the Corn Palace.

The Tigers (13-8, 6-5 Great Plains Athletic Conference) were up three, 80-77, with 21 seconds to go, and looked to be in good position to increase their lead and ice the game when a foul was called on Briar Cliff with the Tigers in the double bonus.

But a technical foul was called on Luke Bamberg, and Clayton Harreld went to the line and hit both free throws for the Chargers to make it a one-point game, 80-79. The foul was Bamberg's fifth, so he wasn't allowed to shoot his free throws after being fouled, but freshman Eric Warkenthien stepped in and made one of the two attempts to put DWU up two, 81-79.

On the other end of the court, Warkenthien stepped inside and drew a charge against Briar Cliff forward Ricky Torres, but that call was waved off and Torres was called for traveling to give DWU the ball with 15 seconds left. Jade Miller was fouled and hit a single free throw to make it a three-point game, but Austin Homan scored to cut the Tigers' lead to one, 82-81, with five seconds left. Kris Menning was fouled and hit both free throws to seal the win with two seconds left.

Briar Cliff (14-8, 7-5), which is receiving votes in the NAIA, led 10-4 early, but Miller hit a three to spark a 16-5 run that included three straight 3-pointers – two from Menning and one from Miller – and put DWU up 20-15 with 10:29 left in the first half. The Chargers were able to tie the game, but never took the lead again. The Tigers led by seven with 3:32 left in the half, and took a 43-39 lead into the break.

Trae Bergh hit a three to start the second half for Dakota Wesleyan, and the Tigers pushed their lead to 13, 56-43, on a layup by Miller with 15:57 left to play. DWU led by 12, 67-55, with 8:23 left, but Bryan Forbes converted a three-point play and Zach Otting hit a three as part of an 8-0 run to make it a four-point game with 5:51 left. The Tigers pushed their lead back to nine, 76-67, on a three by Bergh with 1:45 left before the fast-paced ending to the game.

Jalen Voss finished with a game-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds to lead DWU, which shot 48.2 percent from the field and went 21-for-27 from the line. Miller added 22 points, Bergh finished with 15 and Menning chipped in with 14 points, including a 6-for-6 clip from the line. Bamberg – who fouled out of the game along with Voss and Stephen Lee – had nine rebounds and Tate Martin finished with 13 assists. The Tigers hit nine 3-pointers, had 38 rebounds and finished with nine turnovers.

Otting had 21 points for the Chargers and Forbes chipped in with 17. Harreld added 17 points and Torres had 12 points and nine rebounds. Briar Cliff shot 35.8 percent from the field, had five threes and went 28-for-34 from the line. The Chargers had 40 rebounds and seven turnovers.

Dakota Wesleyan returns to action Sunday, Jan. 26, when it hosts Midland University at 4 p.m. Sunday is the Tigers' annual Pink the Palace game, and fans are encouraged to wear pink. T-shirts are available for sale at Sun Gold Sports.