No. 6 Tigers stifle No. 16 Jamestown on the road

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Over the final 2:39 of the game, the No. 6 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team went on a 12-4 run to seal the 75-65 road victory over No. 16 University of Jamestown in a Great Plains Athletic Conference top-25 matchup Wednesday in Jamestown, N.D.

 Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) helped the Tigers (5-0, 3-0 GPAC) jump out to a 7-2 lead in the opening five minutes of play following a 3-point basket.

 But the Jimmies (7-2, 1-1 GPAC) charged back to take the lead a few minutes later. With under 10 minutes to play in the half, Samuel McCloud (Rapid City, S.D.) nailed a 3-point basket followed by a Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) jump shot to push the Tiger lead to 13-10.

 The pace of both teams quickened as they traded baskets over the final nine minutes of the half. Up by five points with five minutes to play, Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) hit a 3-pointer to give the Tigers an eight-point advantage.

 Moments later, DWU finished the half on a 13-5 run thanks to 3-point baskets by Larson, Harden and Tyson Smiley (Omaha, Neb.). The Tigers led at halftime, 39-25.

 Collin Kramer (Volga, S.D.) opened the second half with a 3-point basket followed by a Hoglund basket to extend the lead to 17 points.

 However, the Jimmies clawed their way back into the game with a 16-3 run over the next five minutes of play to only trail by four points.

 Harden and Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) put an end to the run with 3-point baskets to push the lead back to 10 points. But Jamestown would not go away as they tied the game with 9:33 left to play.

 Later in the game with under two minutes to play and the Tigers leading by three points, Hoglund tossed up a deep 3-point shot and found nothing but net that extended the lead to six points. Free throws down the stretch helped DWU seal its' second top-25 road win of the season.

 Hoglund tallied 22 points and six rebounds, while McCloud added nine points and 12 rebounds. Harden chipped in 14 points, six assists and four rebounds, as Tristan Teichmeier (Sioux Falls, S.D.) notched seven points and seven rebounds off the bench. DWU shot 40 percent from the field and 46.9 percent from 3-point range in the contest.

 The Tigers battle NCAA Division II opponent St. Cloud State University for an exhibition game at 4 p.m. Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn.