Bench lifts DWU as Evers scores career high

HASTINGS, Neb. – Thanks to bench play that outscored Hastings College 52-4, the No. 16 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team pulled away down the stretch. Freshman Teegan Evers (Huron, S.D.) had a career game as he poured in 28 points en route to the 90-76 Great Plains Athletic Conference win Saturday in Hastings, Neb.

 The Broncos (6-15, 2-14 GPAC) opened the game with a 15-7 lead to take the early momentum, forcing a DWU timeout. The Tigers (16-4, 12-3 GPAC) responded with an 11-2 run that was capped off by an Evers basket to give DWU its first lead of the game.

 After Hastings regained the lead moments later, Evers nailed one of his four 3-pointers to tie the game with under nine minutes to play in the half.

 Sawyer Schultz (Emery, S.D.) followed up the Evers 3-pointer with one of his own to give the Tigers the lead. The Tigers went on another run, this time with a 13-0 run to push their lead to 13 points with five minutes left in the half.

 Ace Zorr (Harrisburg, S.D.) tallied a pair of baskets, followed by a Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) jumper to keep the lead in double digits. The Broncos finished the half on a 6-2 spurt thanks to a layup at the buzzer to chip the DWU lead to 49-42 at halftime.

 Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) began the second half with a basket to open the scoring. Hastings began to find a groove offensively, while forcing DWU turnovers to pull within two points three minutes into the half.

 However, Drew Cole (Brookings, S.D.) nailed a 3-pointer to end the Hastings run. Zorr began to make his presence known as he scored seven-straight points for the Tigers midway through the second half.

 As the game dipped under 10 minutes to play, Harden buried a shot from beyond the arc to push the lead back to double digits. The Tiger lead hung around the 10-point margin until they strung together an 18-4 run with under five minutes to play. The run pushed the DWU lead to 23 points as they ran away with the game.

 Evers scored a career-high 28 points on 4-of-7 shooting from downtown and 10-of-14 from the field. Zorr added 19 points, as Harden notched 16 points and five steals and Oppold fell just short of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.

 The Tigers return home to host No. 9 Morningside College at 8 p.m. on Wednesday at the Corn Palace.