Larson, Tigers outlast Briar Cliff in GPAC home opener

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team outlasted conference foe Briar Cliff University by a score of 65-53 to open up Great Plains Athletic Conference play Wednesday evening at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

 The opening half saw both offenses struggle to score as it was a defensive battle early on with DWU claiming a 7-4 lead. The Tigers (2-1, 1-0 GPAC) extended the margin 13-4 with back-to-back 3-pointers from Sawyer Schultz (Emery, S.D.) and Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) forcing the Chargers (2-3, 0-1 GPAC) to burn a timeout.

 Out of the break, Briar Cliff responded with a pair of field goals trimming the lead to 13-8. Though, Dakota Wesleyan once again stretched the lead thanks to consecutive layups by Jeffrey Schuch (Dell Rapids, S.D.) controlling a 19-12 advantage.

 With just over three minutes of action remaining, Ace Zorr (Harrisburg, S.D.) sparked the Tiger offense off the bench snatching an offensive rebound followed by a layup propelling DWU to a 27-18 halftime lead.

 The second half started with a Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) assist to Schuch who finished near the rim. Minutes later Larson completed an easy layup off a Schuch assist pushing the Tigers to a 33-25 margin.

 The game remained close as the Chargers pulled within three points, 35-32 midway through the second half. However, a steal and layup by Oppold captivated a 9-2 run pushing the margin to double digits 44-34.

 DWU controlled the game for the rest of the second half as Bradley Dean (Pierre, S.D.) knocked down a 3-pointer off the assist from Oppold. Dean's basket pressed the Dakota Wesleyan advantage to 13 points, 53-40 with under eight minutes of action remaining.

 Approaching three minutes to play, a made jumper by Larson along with a block by Oppold denied any chance for a comeback by Briar Cliff. DWU marched on to a 65-53 victory as a late 3-pointer by Oppold followed by a dunk from Larson off the assist from Oppold culminated the Tiger's win to open up conference play.

 Larson steered the Dakota Wesleyan balanced attack with 15 points along with six rebounds and four assists. Three other DWU starters recorded double digits as Schultz and Oppold tallied 14 and 10 points, respectively. Meanwhile, the Tiger defense held the Chargers to just 34.7% shooting from the field while forcing 11 BCU turnovers.

 DWU returns to action next as it will face its first road test in conference play with a matchup versus Dordt University at 8:00 p.m. next Wednesday in Sioux Center, Iowa.