Tiger bench leads way in Las Vegas Hoopla victory

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – With 15 of the 16 players entering the scoring category, the No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team cruised to victory over Cal Miramar University, 97-59 Wednesday at the Las Vegas Hoopla in Las Vegas, Nev.

 In the opening minutes of the game, Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) drove through the lane and connected on a floater to put the Tigers on the scoreboard early as DWU never trailed in the contest. Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) helped DWU expand on its' lead with three 3-pointers to give the Tigers (10-3) an 11-2 lead.

 Later in the first half, Cooper Williams (Vermillion, S.D.) entered the game and quickly made his presence known. Midway through the first half Williams nailed three shots from 3-point range to boost the Tiger lead.

 Following a barrage of 3-pointers down the stretch, the Tigers held a 51-24 lead at halftime with eight different players scoring in the half. Five different players connected on 3-pointers for a total of 13 made shots from beyond the arc in the opening half.

 Hoglund picked up where he left off in the second half with a 3-pointer to put the Tigers up by 30 points. On the next possession, Aaron Ahmadu (Houston, Texas) found Samuel McCloud in the corner for another 3-point basket.

 Zachery Treiber (Brookings, S.D.) found himself open at the top of the key and knocked down another 3-pointer at the 13-minute mark. Two minutes later, Treiber crossed over at the elbow and knocked down a mid-range jumper.

 Midway through the second half, Williams drove the baseline and found Tristan Teichmeier (Sioux Falls, S.D.) for the easy layup. Later in the half, the Tigers were able to break the full-court press as Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) found Teichemeier for another layup to push the Tiger lead to 37 points as DWU cruised to victory.

 Hoglund led all scorers with 18 points and four rebounds, as Williams notched a career-high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from downtown. Teichmeier and Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) tallied 10 points apiece, while Nate Davis (Watertown, S.D.) added nine points. The bench players scored 72 of the 97 points for the Tigers in the contest.

 DWU shot 50 percent from the field and 47.7 percent from 3-piont range in the contest. The Tigers finished with 24 assists, 40 rebounds and held the Fighting Falcons to 39.3 percent from the field.

 The Tigers return to action against the University of Antelope Valley at 6 p.m. (CST) tomorrow at the Las Vegas Hoopla in Las Vegas, Nev.