No. 10 DWU stumbles versus No. 18 Lancers

YANKTON, S.D. – The No. 10 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team hit the road to battle in-state rival No. 18 Mount Marty College and dropped the Great Plains Athletic Conference contest, 72-61 Wednesday in Yankton, S.D.

 The Tigers (19-7, 11-6 GPAC) jumped out to an early lead following a Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) 3-pointer. However, the Lancers (19-8, 10-7 GPAC) tied the game following a 3-pointer of their own.

 After MMC took an 11-9 lead, Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) nailed a 3-pointer to hand the lead back to DWU. 

 Midway through the half, MMC strung together a 7-0 run to take an 18-14 lead. Moments later they pushed their lead to four points, but a Samuel McCloud (Rapid City, S.D.) 3-pointer kept DWU within one point.

 With just over three minutes to play in the half, consecutive 3-pointers by Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) and McCloud tied the game at 26. The Tigers continued to extend their lead to 31-26 after a Hoglund jumper and a McCloud 3-pointer.

 With 25 seconds remaining in the half, Oppold connected on a jump shot to help DWU hold onto a slim lead. However, MMC made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 34-33 lead into halftime.

 Both teams came out of intermission on fire as three 3-pointers were made between the teams in the opening two minutes of the half. 

 The Lancers pushed their lead to eight points after five minutes of play following a pair of free throws and a jump shot.

 Both teams went cold from the field as only two baskets were made over a four minutes span. However, Hoglund made back-to-back jump shots to pull the Tigers within six points.

 With three minutes remaining, Larson buried a 3-pointer to give one final shot for the Tigers as they trailed by six points. However, the Lancers had an answer with a 3-pointer of their own as they upset DWU. 

 Hoglund led the team with 23 points and six rebounds, as McCloud finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The Tigers held MMC to 15 points under its' season average but shot 39% from the field and finished with 18 turnovers.

 DWU travels to Nebraska to take on Doane University at 4 p.m. Saturday in Crete, Neb.