Tigers suffer first loss of season

MITCHELL, S.D. – It was a fast-paced contest with both teams shooting over 55% from the field on the night. However, the No. 6 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team was upset by (RV) Mount Marty College, 106-98 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference showdown Wednesday night at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

 The Tigers (8-1, 4-1 GPAC) jumped out early to a 5-2 lead after Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) found nothing but net on a 3-pointer.

 The Lancers (11-2, 4-1 GPAC) took a 30 second timeout to regroup. Coming out of the timeout, MMC scored seven-straight points to take a 9-5 lead.

 With the score tied at 14, senior Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Tigers a 20-16 lead.

 Midway through the half, Tyson Smiley (Omaha, Neb.) took over as he scored five-straight points, followed by a Hoglund free throw to give DWU a 28-21 lead.

 However, the Lancers responded with seven-straight points to tie the game at 28. Smiley answered with another 3-pointer, followed by a Tristan Teichmeier (Sioux Falls, S.D.) layup.

 With 4:45 left in the half, the Lancers nailed a 3-pointer to take a three-point lead. But the Tigers responded again with a 14-3 run to conclude the half that was capped off with a Smiley layup. DWU took a 49-41 lead into the locker rooms.

 The Tigers built on their lead in the early moments of the second half as Smiley and Hoglund made consecutive layups to push the lead to 10 points.

 Later in the half with DWU leading by seven points, the Lancers tied the game with a 9-2 run. But DWU answered with an 10-0 run that was started by a Collin Kramer (Volga, S.D.) 3-pointer.

 Just like they did multiple times throughout the game, MMC went on another run, this time with a 12-2 spurt to tie the game again. 

 Both teams traded baskets until the Lancers took a 99-88 lead late in the game. But the Tigers made one final push as Hoglund made six-straight free throws to make it a 99-94 score line.

 With a minute to play, Samuel McCloud (Rapid City, S.D.) stole a pass to give the Tigers a chance to pull within one possession. However, the Lancers stole the ball back and made a layup to secure the upset victory.

 Hoglund tallied 43 points on 14-of-16 shooting, just two points shy of tying his career high, while Smiley added 25 points and nine rebounds. Teichmeier came off the bench and provided a spark with 16 points and seven rebounds. DWU shot 58.3% from the field and 45.8% from 3-point range but was outscored 65-49 in the second half.

 The Tigers take on Concordia University at 4 p.m. Saturday in Seward, Neb., for a GPAC road matchup.