TIGER MEN’S BASKETBALL SLIPS AGAINST NO. 14 WILDCATS IN FIRST GAME OF THE SMALL COLLEGE BASKETBALL CLASSIC
Aberdeen, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball was unable to get the better part of No. 14 Indiana Wesleyan as they fall by 18 in the first annual Small College Basketball Classic.
The Quick Details
Score:
DWU 59 - #14 IWU 73
Records:
DWU 2-3
#14 IWU 4-2
How It Happened
Dakota Wesleyan kept close to Indiana Wesleyan through the first few minutes of the game, before a four-minute dry spell came across the Tigers and they trailed by nine, 14-5. Kallan Herman broke that spell as he connected with a shot from beyond the arc. DWU burnt their second timeout of the half with just over ten-minutes remaining before the break and trailing, 20-8. Alan Kikwaki brough the Tigers deficit back to nine, 24-13, after he connected with a corner three, followed by a block to keep the margin at nine points by Jakob Dobney at the opposite end of the floor; but the Tigers were unable to come up with the rebound as the Wildcats made the basket anyway pushing their lead to 26-13. Dobney followed his block with a three-pointer putting DWU back within striking distance as the scoreboard showed just under seven minutes to play. Koln Oppold hit a three-point shot with just under four minutes remaining in the first half as the Tigers still trailed the Wildcats, 21-35. Dakota Wesleyan tallied the final basket of the first half from Wachs Arena, as they went into the break trailing No. 14 IWU 25-40.
Indiana Wesleyan University came out in the second half, quickly pushing their lead to 50-32 after only four minutes of play when Dakota Wesleyan called for a full timeout to regroup. Nick Wittler hit a shot from beyond the arc with 11:14 remaining in the game right before head coach Matt Wilber called for another timeout. Proceeding shots from Kikwaki, Herman, Rett Osthus tallied his first points of the game with 5:48 remaining and still trailing 67-52. DWU kept trying to get shots to fall but were unable to get very many in the remaining several minutes, as they fell 73-59.
Overall, Dakota Wesleyan shot 40.4% from the floor and 37.9% beyond the arc. The Tigers our scored the Wildcats on second chance points 11-6. DWU grabbed 27 boards, 14 points off 11 IWU turnovers, and scored 22 points in the paint. The Tigers bench chipped in with 24 points.
Beyond the Results
- Nick Wittler: 12 points, 88.3 FG%, and 66.6 3-pt%
- Alan Kikwaki: 10 points, 50 FG%, and two assists
- Samuel Aslesen: six rebounds
Up Next
The Tigers are back in action tomorrow afternoon for game two of the Small College Basketball Classic from Aberdeen and Wachs Arena. DWU will tip-off at 4 p.m. against No. 16 Carroll College (Mont.).