TIGER MEN’S BASKETBALL FALLS IN FIRST CONFERENCE GAME OF THE SEASON

Sioux City, Iowa – Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball falls in close second half game to Morningside in their first Great Plains Athletic Conference contest of the 2022-23 season.

The Quick Details

Score:

DWU 64

MOR 80

Records:

DWU 1-2 (GPAC 0-1)

MOR 3-0 (GPAC 1-0)

How It Happened

The Tigers got off to a slow start in the opening game of conference play today. After trailing early by a few points, it wasn't until four minutes in DWU collected on a layup from Jakob Dobney tying the game at 8-8. The tied game sparked the Mustangs to go on a 12-7 run lasting four minutes until the Tigers called for a timeout with 12-minutes remaining in the opening half and now trailing 22-15. Once play resumed after the hiatus in play, Dakota Wesleyan went cold till Nick Wittler entered the game and hit a jump shot just seconds after. With seven minutes and 40-seconds remaining, head coach Matt Wilber called for a 30-second timeout as they trailed 31-17. Koln Oppold connected with D'Andre Dennis cutting the Morningside lead to four points, 35-31, with three-minutes remaining after a shot from beyond the arc that forced the Mustangs to take a timeout. Morningside called for a brief 30-second timeout with 24-seconds left in the half as they missed the final shot of the half but continued to hold the advantage over the Tigers 42-33.

The Mustangs got the second half started quick, adding six points in under a two-minutes, while the Tigers were still looking for their first basket of the half. DWU called a time out early, followed by a 7-0 run by the Tigers, they closed the margin to 12 points. Dakota Wesleyan was able to keep the 12-point margin for a few minutes as the Mustangs and Tigers traded layups on opposite ends of the floor. As the game neared the ten-minute remaining mark, and a line change from DWU, Drew Van Regenmorter hit a triple, setting DWU back into a four-possession game. Blaze Lubbers collected on a shot from deep with 10:23 remaining to bring the Tigers within 11-points. 64-53. Both teams then saw a scoring drought after that point, lasting nearly two-minutes; Samuel Aslesen broke the trend with a layup to bring DWU even closer to tying the game, 64-55. The Tigers were not able to catch up down the stretch as they fell 80-64 in the first GPAC game on the season.

Overall, the Tigers were outshot by the Mustangs from the floor, 53.2% to 42.6%. DWU only missed one free throw all game, going 6-of-7 to shoot 85.7% while Morningside was 7-of-11 from the foul line. Dakota Wesleyan tallied 29 boards, 13 assists, 14 points off turnovers, seven second chance points, and the bench chipped in with 14 points.

Beyond the Results

• Koln Oppold: 13 points, 46.1 FG%, eight rebounds, and six assists
• Jakob Dobney: 12 points, 38.4 FG%, and two blocks
• Nick Wittler: 11 points, 45.4 FG%, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal

Up Next

The Tigers are back in action for their first midweek game of the season. On Wednesday, November 16, the Tigers will travel north to Jamestown, N.D. to face off against the No. 9 Jimmies of the University of Jamestown. The Tigers and No. 9 Jimmies will get underway at 7:45 p.m. from Harold Newman Arena.