Furious comeback pushes Tigers past Doane

CRETE, Neb. – With 5:54 left to play, the (RV) Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team went on a 17-2 run that vaulted the Tigers past Doane University, 75-66 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference thriller on Saturday in Crete, Neb.

 After Doane jumped out to a quick lead, DWU went on a 7-0 spurt capped off by a Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) 3-pointer.

 However, Doane (4-9, 1-6 GPAC) came back with a 9-2 run of their own to hold a 12-9 lead. The lead grew to nine points, until Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) nailed a 3-point shot to cut the deficit to 20-14.

 Moments later, Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) connected on a deep 3-point shot to pull the Tigers within three points. But, Doane extended its' lead down the stretch to take a 39-30 lead into halftime.

 Doane began the second half quickly, going on a 9-0 run to take a 48-30 lead. After Aaron Ahmadu (Houston, Texas) made a 3-point basket, the Tigers (9-3, 5-3 GPAC) took a quick 30-second timeout.

 Coming out of the timeout, Ahmadu nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 53-39 game. With 11:29 to play, Hoglund drove through the lane and made a layup to cut the deficit to single digits.

 Following the layup, Hoglund came back and found nothing but net on a 3-point attempt to make it a five-point game. After a Hoglund free throw pulled DWU within two points, Doane extended its' lead back to eight points following two consecutive three-point plays.

 Moments later with Doane leading 64-58, DWU began to mount a comeback. Samuel McCloud (Rapid City, S.D.) made a 3-point basket followed by an Ahmadu free throw to make it a two-point game.

 With 2:38 left to play, Collin Kramer (Volga, S.D.) made a layup in the paint and was fouled. He made the ensuing free throw to give the Tigers their first lead since the first half.

 Tight defense down the stretch held Doane without a field goal in the final 5:54 of the game as tight defense and free-throw shooting gave DWU the victory.

 Hoglund led the team with a double-double as he scored 24 points, snagged 10 rebounds and recorded seven steals. Ahmadu finished with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, as Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) and Kramer notched nine points each.

 The Tigers shot 43.6 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range. DWU forced 22 turnovers and scored 26 points off turnovers, while scoring 28 points in the paint.

 DWU comes home to host Concordia University at 6 p.m. Saturday in the Corn Palace.