DWU men leave nets scorched in opening round win

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team has not taken the court in nearly two weeks, but there was no sign of rust as the No. 5 Tigers shot the lights out in the first round of the 2015 NAIA Division II Men's National Basketball Championship Thursday at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo.

DWU, now 29-4, shot 74 percent in the first half and 62 percent for the game, while making 16-of-27 shots from deep in a 98-55 win over Milligan College (Tenn.). The win is the third straight for the Tigers in the NAIA first round and sets a new school record for wins in a season.

"I thought it was a really great team effort on our part," DWU Head Coach Matt Wilber said. "We were really unselfish and really executed well. When you execute well and finish it all looks pretty good."

Keeter felt like the Corn Palace for DWU, with hundreds of Tiger faithful making the trip to cheer their team on.

"How cool is it where they can't start announcements because our crowd is chanting so loud," Wilber said about the fans. "I can't say enough about our crowd and for this kind of group to travel this way is really special."

The Tigers came out on fire early, with senior forward Jalen Voss (Worthington, Minn.) scoring the game's first five points and senior guard Kris Menning hitting the first of his five 3-pointers to force a quick timeout from the Buffalos. DWU kept the pressure on, hitting 10-of-14 shots from 3-point range in the first half. DWU finished one 3-pointer shy of tying the tournament record, making 16 in the fifth-best performance in the event's history.

"The big question was going to be how we handled the environment," Wilber said. "Obviously I think those questions were answered early for us. When shots are going in, things get a lot easier."

The Tigers led by 24 at the half and did not let up after the break, finishing the game 35-of-56 from the field. Voss led the way with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting. He added eight rebounds and is now 21 points shy of 2,000 for his career.

Junior forward Jade Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) came alive off the bench for DWU, scoring 17 points on 9-of-11 shooting and hit three 3-pointers. Junior guard Trae Bergh added 16 points, including four 3-pointers, while Menning finished with 16 points and five makes from deep.

Sophomore guard Tate Martin (Mitchell, S.D.) finished with a team-high five assists, while senior forward Luke Bamberg (Corsica, S.D.) pulled down seven rebound and threw down one emphatic dunk in the second half to electrify the crowd. The Tigers outrebounded Milligan 41-24.

The Buffalos were led by Mike Woods Jr. with 19 points, while Julian Bailey scored 12 off the bench in the loss. Milligan, which finishes the season 20-11, shot 23-of-71 from the field and 4-of-15 from 3-point range.

The Tigers will take on unseeded Ashford University (Iowa), which topped No. 12 Bethel College 83-57 on Thursday, in the second round. DWU will be looking for it's first-ever win in the second round of the NAIA Division II Men's National Basketball Championship. The Tigers tip off at 5:45 p.m. at Keeter Gymnasium.