Midland snaps DWU’s 13-game win streak

FREMONT, Neb. – Hot shooting from Midland University and struggling from the floor for Dakota Wesleyan University, the Warriors of Midland pulled off the upset after an 84-75 Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup Saturday in Fremont, Neb.

 Midland knocked down its first of 13 3-pointers in the game in the opening minutes, taking an early 7-4 lead. Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) answered with a 3-pointer of his own to tie the game.

 Both teams traded shots from beyond the arc until Oppold made a layup to give the Tigers (13-2, 9-2 GPAC) their first lead of the game. Sawyer Schultz (Emery, S.D.) buried a shot from downtown to force a Midland timeout.

 Coming out of the timeout, the Warriors (4-11, 2-10 GPAC) slowly chipped away at the DWU lead until the score was tied at 19 midway through the half. Almost two minutes later, Midland made consecutive 3-pointers, causing DWU to take a 30-second timeout.

 Freshman Teegan Evers (Huron, S.D.) found nothing but net to score his first points of the game off a 3-point basket to keep DWU within three points. However, the Warriors pushed their lead to nine points with 3:48 to play in the half.

 The Tigers responded with a 12-2 run to close out the half. The run was highlighted by 3-pointers by Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) and Jeffrey Schuch (Dell Rapids, S.D.) and a layup at the buzzer by Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) to give the Tigers a one-point lead at intermission.

 With 12 minutes to play in the game, the Warriors took an eight-point advantage after consecutive 3-pointers and a pair of jump shots. After another shot from deep, the Tigers attempted a comeback. Ace Zorr (Harrisburg, S.D.) knocked down a pair of free throws, followed by an Oppold layup and free throw to make it a four-point deficit.

 After a free throw by Harden cut the Midland lead to three points, the Warriors began to pull away thanks to an 11-4 run. Down by 10 points with 3:28 left, the Tigers were looking for one final flurry to keep their win streak alive.

 It looked as if they would do just that after Oppold and Schultz made 3-pointers to pull within three points with just 1:13 to play. However, Midland responded with a shot from beyond the arc on their next possession and free throws down the stretch helped pull off the upset.

 Oppold poured in a season-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field, as Harden and Schuch each posted 12-point outings. Midland shot a blazing 59.1% from 3-point range, while the Tigers made just 34.5% of their shots from deep.

 The Tigers take on (RV) Northwestern College at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in Orange City, Iowa.