Tiger men blow past Presentation, 85-53

ABERDEEN, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team picked up its second straight game in its 85-53 rout of Presentation College Wednesday night in Aberdeen, S.D. The Tigers shot better than 51 percent from the field and forced Presentation into 23 turnovers to improve to .500 at 7-7 overall.

A pair of threes from Kris Menning put the Tigers up six early, and Trae Bergh added a three to make it a nine-point game, 13-4, with 16:22 left in the first half. Bergh scored on consecutive possessions and Stephen Lee converted a three-point play to make it a 15-point game, 22-7, and Dakota Wesleyan held onto that lead.

Jalen Voss hit four free throws and Jade Miller drained a three to make it a 17-point game with just under 11 minutes left in the first half, and a jumper by Luke Bamberg made it a 19-point game a few minutes later. The Saints (9-4) made it a 12-point game, but the Tigers maintained a 43-30 lead at halftime.

Voss scored 10 points and Bergh hit three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the second half to push the Tigers' lead to 27, 64-37, with 11:43 left to play. A jumper by Bamberg made it a 30-point game, and the Tigers held onto that lead the rest of the game.

Bergh finished the game 4-for-8 from long range and scored a game-high 20 points for Dakota Wesleyan. Voss added 16 points, Menning and Miller both chipped in with 15 and Bamberg finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Bergh also had seven assists and Bamberg and Menning each had six. The Tigers shot 51.6 percent from the field, went 10-for-12 from the line and had 35 rebounds and 15 turnovers.

Nick Gillett was the only player in double digits for Presentation with 10 points. He and Anthony Hendricks both had five rebounds and Chaz Haymond had five assists. The Saints shot 43 percent from the field, went 6-for-10 from the line and had 23 rebounds and 23 turnovers.

DWU is on the road Friday, Dec. 20, when it travels to Seward, Neb., to take on Concordia University at 8 p.m.