Hot shooting lifts DWU past Midland

FREMONT, Neb. – Thanks to 56.4% shooting from the field and 85.7% shooting from the free-throw line, the No. 10 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team handled the Midland Warriors, 73-59 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference road contest Sunday in Fremont, Neb.

 Both teams kicked off the game with 3-pointers in their opening possessions. After five minutes of play, Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) made a layup to push the lead to five points.

 Moments later, Oppold drove to the basket and dished the ball into the corner, where Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) knocked down a 3-point basket, forcing a Warrior (7-12, 3-9 GPAC) timeout.

 Later in the half, the Tigers (17-3, 9-2 GPAC) went on an 8-2 run, including three Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) free throws.

 With three minutes to play in the half, Oppold nailed a 3-pointer to cushion the DWU lead to double digits for the first time in the game. With the clock running down, Midland made a 3-point basket to cut the DWU lead to seven points at halftime.

 The Warriors started the second half how the ended the first half, with a made shot from beyond the arc. Oppold and Hoglund scored five-straight points to keep the lead with DWU.

 Larson found himself open again behind the 3-point arc as he made his shot with 15 minutes to play. On the next two possessions, Larson scored on a layup and another 3-pointer, as the Warriors called a timeout.

 After Midland made a jump shot, Larson drove the baseline and flushed home a dunk to liven the Tigers. Midway through the second half, the Warriors made a shot from 3-point range to pull within five points.

 However, this was as close as they would get as Oppold, Larson and Jeffrey Schuch (Dell Rapids, S.D.) went on a 12-6 run over the next five minutes.

 With 2:30 to play and the Tigers up by nine points, they finished the game on an 8-3 run, capped off with a Schuch-to-Larson alley-oop.

 Larson led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field, along with three steals and three rebounds. Oppold finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while Hoglund chipped in 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Schuch came off the bench and tallied 10 points.

 DWU shot 56.4% from the field and 27.8% from 3-point range, while outrebounding the Warriors 27-19.

 The Tigers return home for a three-game home stand, beginning with a GPAC matchup versus Hastings College at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Corn Palace.