Furious DWU rally falls short at Northwestern
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team could not overcome a sluggish first half, falling to Northwestern College for the team’s second straight Great Plains Athletic Conference loss Wednesday in Orange City, Iowa.
ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The No. 13 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team could not overcome a sluggish first half, falling to Northwestern College for the team's second straight Great Plains Athletic Conference loss Wednesday in Orange City, Iowa.
The Tigers fell behind early, with the Red Raiders shooting 62.5 percent from the field before the break, led by guard Colton Kooima's 21 points in the first half. DWU trailed by 16 points at the break, but rallied to tie the game at 84 with six minutes to play.
DWU's momentum was cut short and Northwestern pulled away in the final minute for a 102-96 win. The Tigers fall to 12-6 overall and 5-4 in the GPAC.
Senior guard Trae Bergh (Crooks, S.D.) reached yet another milestone in the loss. With a deep 3-pointer in the first half, Bergh scored his 1,500th-career point, becoming just the 15th DWU men's basketball player to reach the mark. Bergh did his best to keep the Tigers in the game early, scoring 18 of his team-high 29 points in the first half. He was 9-of-15 from the field and hit four 3-pointers.
The second-half DWU comeback was spurred by junior guard Tate Martin (Mitchell, S.D.). He scored 19 points, while adding three assists. Senior Jade Miller (Mitchell, S.D.) scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while senior forward Terrell Newton (Huron, S.D.) added 14 points and five rebounds.
The Tigers finished 36-of-71 from the field, 8-of-24 from deep and 16-of-21 from the line. DWU was outrebounded 40-33.
Kooima finished with a game-high 34 points, while Nathan Wedel added 21 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double. Northwestern shot 41-of-68 from the field (60.3 percent).
The Tigers step out of GPAC play to take on rival Dakota State University at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.
