Tigers square off against Broncos on Saturday
MITCHELL, S.D. – Completing their three-game road stand, the No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball squad takes on Hastings College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference tilt at 4 p.m. tomorrow from Lynn Farrell Arena in Hastings, Neb.
MITCHELL, S.D. – Completing their three-game road stand, the No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball squad takes on Hastings College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference tilt at 4 p.m. tomorrow from Lynn Farrell Arena in Hastings, Neb.
The Game
The two teams met earlier this season in November, when DWU came away with a 74-70 victory at the Corn Palace. All five starters scored in double figures for the Tigers, as Sawyer Schultz (Emery, S.D.) led all scorers with 17 points.
DWU is coming off an 86-76 win at Briar Cliff University on Wednesday. With the win and a Morningside College loss during the week, the Tigers are just one game behind the Mustangs for the lead in the conference with six games left.
The Tigers continue to use strong defense to hold teams below their scoring average. DWU leads the GPAC allowing 69.2 points per game and in field-goal percentage defense, holding teams to 42.5% from the floor. Nationally, the Blue and Gray check in at 13th with 74 blocks on the season and are 20th in scoring defense per game.
Senior guard Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) continues to control the pace for the Tigers as he leads the team with 16.4 points and 2.3 steals per outing. He ranks 10th in the NAIA with 39 steals this season and is 24th nationally in steals per game.
All five starters average double-figure scoring per game as Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) averages 14.3 points per game. Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) scores 11.6 points, while Jeffrey Schuch (Dell Rapids, S.D.) and Schultz add 10.3 points per contest each.
The Coaches
In his eighth season as head coach, Matt Wilber is the third-winningest coach in program history with a record of 180-74.
Bill Gavers is also in his eighth season as the head coach of the Hastings Broncos. At Hastings, he has compiled a record of 126-111.
The Series
Thanks to the early-season victory, DWU holds a 32-17 advantage in the all-time series played. The last matchup in Hastings ended with a 70-62 final in favor of the Broncos in the season-finale a season ago.
Scouting the Hastings Broncos
The Broncos enter tomorrow's matchup with a 6-14 overall record, having split their previous four games. Hastings also has a GPAC record of 2-13 with their pair of conference wins coming against Doane University and Mount Marty University. The Broncos can get up and down the court as they rank 19th nationally with 1,633 points scored this year. They also average 81.7 points per game.
Hastings boasts five players averaging double figures this year, with Karson Gansebom leading the charge with 16.2 points per game, while Mason Hiemstra adds 15.7 points per contest. Gansebom leads the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 84.4% from the charity stripe. Evan Kingston is also a GPAC leader for the Broncos as he boasts a 3.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.
For fans attending the game, please visit http://www.hastingsbroncos.com/article/3470.php#.YBQy_WRKg0E to comply with all COVID-19 protocols set forth by Hastings College. The game will also be streamed online with live stats available at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/hastings/. As always, Tim Smith and Bob Sprang will be on the call and can be heard at kmit.com, or on 105.9 FM on the radio.