MITCHELL, S.D. – On the night where Dakota Wesleyan great Jalen Voss's number 0 was retired, the No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball cruised to victory over Trinity International University, 81-61 Saturday night in the Hoop City Classic at the Corn Palace.
The Trojans (3-9) opened a 5-2 lead in the first few minutes of the game. However, following a Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) layup, Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) nailed a 3-pointer to give DWU its' first lead of the game.
After TIU took a 17-16 lead and a timeout with 9:50 to go in the first half, the Tigers (13-2) put together a run. Hoglund made a pair of free throws, a layup and a 3-pointer to push the DWU lead to six points. Tyson Smiley (Omaha, Neb.) and Hoglund made layups to extend the lead to double digits.
With two minutes to play in the half, the Trojans pulled within a point. But Smiley knocked down a shot from beyond the arc, followed by a Harden layup to give the Tigers a five-point lead at halftime.
Minutes into the second half, Samuel McCloud (Rapid City, S.D.) found Collin Kramer (Volga, S.D.) for a two-handed slam dunk.
After Harden made four-straight free throws, McCloud added a 3-pointer to cushion the lead to 13 points, forcing a TIU timeout.
Another McCloud 3-pointer and a Harden layup gave the Tigers a 59-41 lead midway through the second half. But the Trojans pulled within 14 points to try and extend the game.
Harden answered with a 9-4 run by himself to give DWU a 21-point advantage. With five minutes to play, Kramer found Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) on a backdoor cut for another dunk to liven the DWU crowd. The Tigers held a steady lead for the remainder of the game to pick up their 13th win of the season.
Harden led all scorers as he finished with 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Hoglund picked up 20 points and four rebounds, while Smiley chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds.
DWU shot 38.6% from the field and outrebounded the Trojans 48-38. The Tigers outscored TIU 40-22 in the paint, as they finished with 48 rebounds and 13 offensive boards.
The Tigers are scheduled to play (RV) Southeastern University at 3 p.m. tomorrow at the Corn Palace to cap off the 2019 portion of the season.
