Tiger men end busy weekend with a win

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team played three games in three days over the weekend and finished 1-2 in that stretch. The Tigers lost two games Friday and Saturday as part of the Fulton State Bank Classic, but wrapped up the weekend Sunday afternoon with a win.

The Tigers (3-2) fell 86-57 to No. 19 Bellevue University Friday night and lost 66-58 to Benedictine University at Springfield Saturday as part of the classic, but bounced back Sunday afternoon with a 92-65 win against Johnson & Wales University.

Friday, Bellevue (4-1) jumped to an early lead and Dakota Wesleyan was never able to recover. The Bruins led by six, 11-5, with 18:09 left in the half, but Luke Bamberg scored five straight points to make it a one-point game, 11-10, with 13:13 left in the first half. From there, Bellevue went on a 15-2 run to take a 26-12 lead with just over eight minutes left in the half, and the Bruins controlled the game from there. Bellevue led by 16, 42-26, at halftime, and pushed its lead to 20 early in the second half.

Bamberg finished with 14 points and eight rebounds to pace Dakota Wesleyan, which shot 40 percent from the field. Trae Bergh added 13 points and Jalen Voss finished with 11 points. Bamberg also had four assists for the Tigers, who went 6-for-23 from long range.

Saturday night the Tigers led by four, 54-50, with 4:10 left to play, but Benedictine (1-3) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to take a 56-54 lead with less than three minutes left to play. A free throw by Bamberg made it a one-point game, but the Bulldogs hit another three to push their lead back to four. Benedictine went 7-for-8 from the line in the final minutes of the game to seal the win.

Dakota Wesleyan grabbed a slim lead early against Benedictine, but the Bulldogs regained the lead with 9:53 left in the first half, and the two teams battled for the lead the remainder of the half. A three by Bamberg tied the game at 25 with 49 seconds left in the half, and Bamberg hit a free throw to give DWU a 26-25 lead at halftime.

Bamberg finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Tigers, who shot 37 percent from the field but went just 4-for-21 from long range. Voss added 17 points and Bergh had eight points and nine rebounds. Tate Martin had nine assists.

Sunday afternoon Johnson & Wales (1-3) led early, but a three by Jade Miller gave DWU the lead with five minutes gone from the half. The two teams exchanged the lead several times, and a free throw by Voss sparked a 15-2 run for the Tigers that ended with a 36-23 lead with 3:20 left in the half. DWU led 44-27 at halftime, and the Tigers pushed their lead to 20 on a three by Bergh with 17:31 left to play.

Voss finished with a game-high 28 points for the Tigers and he also had seven rebounds. Miller finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Bergh had 14 points and Martin had 10 assists. Dakota Wesleyan shot better than 56 percent from the field, including 52 percent from three-point range. DWU went 21-for-26 from the line and had 42 rebounds.

Dakota Wesleyan is back at home Wednesday, Nov. 13, when it hosts No. 18 Dakota State University at 8 p.m. Wednesday's game is a blackout, and all fans are encouraged to wear black DWU gear.