No. 3 Tigers continue to roll, top Chargers for 10th straight

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 14 Briar Cliff University men's basketball team seemed poised for an upset in the opening minutes of the first half after jumping out to an early 7-1 lead on No. 3 Dakota Wesleyan University in a crucial Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Wednesday in Sioux City, Iowa.

The Tigers (21-1, 11-1 GPAC) weathered the Charger storm and took over the rest of the way to earn a 10^th straight win, 87-78. The winning streak is the second of at least 10 games this season for DWU after the Tigers opened the 2014-15 campaign with 11 consecutive victories.

With the Chargers feeding off a raucous home crowd early, DWU senior guard Joey Mitchell (Tulare, S.D.) took over for the visitors, scoring 16 points before the break. The Tigers took a 45-40 lead into the locker room after a three-quarter court heave from DWU point guard Tate Martin (Mitchell, S.D.) rattled in and out.

After the break, DWU shot 57 percent from the field and pulled away for the win to stay atop the GPAC standings. Junior forward Jade Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) keyed the second-half Wesleyan run with his potent outside shooting. Miller has been inserted into the starting lineup the last four games with DWU leading scorer Jalen Voss (Worthington, Minn.) out with an injury. He scored a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting and made five 3-pointers. Miller added five rebounds and four assists.

Three other Tigers finished in double figures led by reigning GPAC Player of the Week Kris Menning (Corsica, S.D.), who completed a second straight double-double. Menning scored 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. Mitchell finished with 18 points, while Trae Bergh added 17 points and six assists.

Senior forward Luke Bamberg (Corsica, S.D.) continued his workmanlike efforts with nine points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. The Tigers played the game with a rotation of just six players playing all but four minutes, as DWU completed a season sweep of BCU.

The Tigers finished 30-of-60 from the field and 9-of-31 from deep, while outrebounding the Chargers 38-36.

BCU was led by Shane Graves and Austin Lefler, who each scored 20 points and hit four 3-pointers. Matt Berg and Bryan Forbes added 13 and 12 points, respectively. The Chargers shot 29-of-65 from the field and 9-of-22 from beyond the three-point line.

The Tigers continue their three-game road stretch against No. 9 Midland University at 4 p.m. Saturday in Fremont, Neb.