TIGERS TAKE DOWN (RV) BRONCOS ON THE ROAD, WIN 80-65 BEHIND BIG SECOND HALF PERFORMANCE

Hastings, Neb. –

The Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball team got redemption as they took down the Hasting Broncos on the road, 80-65. The Broncos, who were receiving votes in the latest NAIA polls, couldn't keep up with the Tigers as they went on a huge run in the second half. Jakob Dobney led all scorers again with 26 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Ethan Determan and Diang Gatluak played a huge role in the win as they poured in 29 points together and drilled six three-pointers. The Tigers scored 18 second chance points and outscored Hastings in the paint 30 to 22. Samuel Aslesen was one bucket short of a double-double with eight points and ten rebounds.

Highlighted Player – Jakob Dobney: 26 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals, 12-14 from the free throw line

Stat Leaders:

Points – Jakob Dobney (26)

Assists – Randy Rosenquist Jr. (5)

Rebounds – Samuel Aslesen (10)

Blocks – Samuel Aslesen (2)

Recap –

Dakota Wesleyan traveled to Hastings, Neb. to take on the (RV) Broncos and looked to get some revenge after the Tigers fell in the first meeting in the Corn Palace by one point back in November. The Tigers offense got out to a quick six-point lead spearheaded by Blaze Lubbers who scored the first two buckets and assisted on a triple. Neither of the offenses could find the bottom of the net early on, so the Tigers looked to freshman Ethan Determan for a spark. The sixth man came off the bench and drilled a pair of triples to keep DWU out in front, 13-7. Unfortunately for the Tigers, Hastings turned it off after Determan's second three ball and showed why they are receiving votes in the national polls. Hastings would go on a quick 11 point run to take over with the lead and forced Coach Wilber to call a timeout to settle his offense. The Tigers slowed the Broncos down and found some buckets. Diang Gatluak ripped down an offence board and slammed it back down to cut the Bronco lead to a single possession. After grabbing the defensive board and getting a foul against a Hastings player, Jakob Dobney attacked the rim with a smooth between the legs move and slipped to the rack to tie it up at 18 all with seven minutes left in the first half. The Broncos would make a pair of threes and get out ahead of the Tigers before Gatluak would drill a triple of his own to keep DWU rolling. Down by two, Determan found himself at the charity stripe after he broke down his defender and got hit at the rack and would go on to sink the pair to knot up the score at 28 apiece. This would be the last bucket for the Tigers and Hastings would hit a heavily contested three pointer as the shot clock expired. The Tigers went into the halftime break down by three after a first half battle with the number two team in the conference.

Dobney and Lubbers got DWU started in the second half. Dobney slashed to rim for a quick layup plus a pair of free throw buckets and Lubbers drilled a deep three-point bomb from the top of the arc to give DWU back the lead. The Tigers really looked to run the floor and did just that as they outscored the Broncos 13-5 in the first five minute of the second half. Randy Rosenquist Jr. was all over the floor as he grabbed a defensive board and zipped three quarter court pass to a cutting Determan to give the Tigers a five-point lead and force the Broncos to talk it over with a full timeout. The Tigers started to look inside to Samuel Aslesen to get the offense going and Aslesen did just that. He found a wide open Gatluak in the corner for a triple and then showed his patience as he pumped faked two defenders and scored a wide-open layup for his second bucket of the game. The Tigers couldn't find anything in their offense and were getting down in the shot clock before Determan found Rosenquist on the left wing for a triple. Two possessions later after he missed his layup attempt, Rosenquist out hustled three Broncos to tip out the offensive board to Gatluak and he drilled another three-point bucker to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the game, 10 points with over eleven minutes remaining. Dakota Wesleyan attacked the rim more in the second half, as they looked to draw fouls against the Broncos. As the Tigers drew the fouls, they finished strong at the rim and made a trio of and-one layups and converted on the free throws. On the other end of the floor, the Tiger defense was stout, as they forced Hastings to lose control of the ball throughout the second half. Rosenquist picked the ball from three times from the guards in the second half. Even under pressure, Rosenquist was able to deliver the ball. As he was trapped in a corner at mid court, he was able to sail a pass over the defenders to Gatluak for a huge dunk. The Tigers held their ground in the contest and were able to pull off the upset, 80-65 on the road over the (RV) Broncos. Dakota Wesleyan relied on their bench heavily in the contest and Determan and Gatluak combined for 29 points and shot 63% from the field. The two outscored Hastings Bench by 13 points! Dobney went off for 20 points in the second half after being held to six in the opening half.

Up Next for the Tigers –

Dakota Wesleyan will stay on the road in Nebraska as they prepare for the "Battle of the Tigers" as they take on the Doane Tigers. Tipoff is set for 2:45 p.m. in Crete, Neb.