DWU men complete season sweep of Hastings

HASTINGS, Neb. – Earlier this season, the Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team beat Hastings College 98-84 at the Corn Palace when the Broncos were ranked sixth in the NAIA.

Saturday afternoon, the Tigers completed the season sweep of Hastings with an 86-72 road win over the Broncos – now ranked 13^th in the nation – in Hastings, Neb. The win bumped the Tigers to 16-13 overall and 9-10 and in fifth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference with one game left in the regular season. Dordt College is in first with a 16-2 GPAC record and Midland University and Morningside College are tied for second with 14-4 conference records.

Hastings (19-8, 13-5) led early, but Dakota Wesleyan took control and led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but after Jalen Voss hit a jumper to put DWU up 38-25 with 3:35 left in the first half, the Broncos went on a 7-0 run to end the half and cut the Tigers' lead to six, 38-32. Hastings made it a four-point game on a jumper by Brady Lollman early in the second half, but the Tigers went on a 12-2 run that included threes by Kris Menning and Trae Bergh and six points from Jalen Voss to put DWU up 50-36 with 16:02 left to play.

Hastings cut the Tigers' lead into the single digits on several occasions, but never got closer than eight. The Broncos made it 62-54 with 6:39 left on a three by Alex Thayer, but Bergh hit a pair of free throws to spark an 11-2 run to put the Tigers up 17, 73-56, with 3:55 left in the game. Hastings was able to cut DWU's lead down to 11 in the final minute of the game, but it was too little, too late.

The Broncos had the upper hand to start the game, and led by five on several occasions. Hastings led by three, 17-14, with 12:31 left in the half, but Voss hit a free throw and a jumper to tie the game at 17. Brandon Krause responded with a pair of free throws, but Bergh made it a 20-19 game with a 3-pointer. Lollman hit a pair of free throws to put Hastings up one, 21-20, but that was its last lead of the game.

Jade Miller scored to spark a 16-4 DWU run that ended with a 38-25 lead for the Tigers with 3:35 left in the half before the Broncos cut DWU's lead to single digits late in the first half.

Voss finished with a game-high 34 points for the Tigers, marking the second straight game he has scored more than 30 points. He also had 18 rebounds. Bergh hit five 3-pointers and finished with 28 points and Menning also had 15 points and seven rebounds. DWU shot 44.3 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent in the second half. The Tigers went 25-for-35 from the line and had 43 rebounds and 11 turnovers.

Lollman had 20 points to pace Hastings, which shot 40 percent from the field. Brett Wells added 14 points and nine rebounds and Krause also finished with 14 points. The Broncos went 20-for-27 from the line and had 38 rebounds and 14 turnovers.

DWU ends the regular season Wednesday, Feb. 19, when it travels to Yankton, S.D., to take on Mount Marty College.