Tiger defense suffocates Concordia in GPAC quarterfinal action

MITCHELL, S.D. – It was a defensive showing for the (RV) Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team as they came out with a 70-58 victory over Concordia University in the Great Plains Athletic Conference Quarterfinals. DWU held Concordia to 24 points below its season average and to 10% below its season average shooting from the field Wednesday from the Corn Palace.

 It was a slow start for both teams as the score remained tied 4-4 after a few minutes of action. After Concordia took a 7-4 lead, Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) buried a 3-pointer to tie the game just to see the Bulldogs (17-9, 14-6 GPAC) drain a 3-pointer of their own to regain the lead.

 Minutes later, Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) stepped behind the arc and made a 3-pointer of his own to pull the Tigers (19-7, 14-6 GPAC) within a point.

 After another 3-pointer by Concordia, DWU took a 30-second timeout to regroup. Coming out of the timeout, Sawyer Schultz (Emery, S.D.) found freshman Teegan Evers (Huron, S.D.) behind the arc for a 3-pointer. On the ensuing DWU possession, Harden drove his way to the basket and made a layup to give DWU its first lead of the game.

 The Tigers kept the momentum rolling as Oppold and Mason Larson (Langford, S.D.) each made baskets to extend lead to five points thanks to a 9-0 run.

 Despite a 3-pointer by the Bulldogs with six minutes to play in the opening half, Harden and Jeffrey Schuch (Dell Rapids, S.D.) made consecutive layups to push the lead back to eight points.

 Ace Zorr (Harrisburg, S.D.) made his presence known as he converted on back-to-back layups to keep the Tigers ahead by eight points. However, with a minute to play, Concordia made a layup to make it a 35-29 game at halftime.

 Drew Cole (Brookings, S.D.) owned the opening minutes of the second half as he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to kick things off. Larson and Oppold made layups on the following two possessions to push the DWU lead to 14 points, forcing a Concordia timeout.

 The Tigers continued their run in the second half as Oppold found nothing but net on a 3-pointer midway through the half to give DWU a 54-37 advantage. Following the Oppold 3-pointer, Concordia switched its defense to a zone to try and slow the Tigers down. They slowed DWU down until Schultz made his first 3-pointer of the night minutes later to give the Tigers a 21-point lead.

 With four minutes to play and the shot clock winding down, Harden inbounded the ball to Schuch who was forced to hoist up a 3-pointer at the last second. Schuch's shot dropped through the net as the Tiger faithful erupted. DWU never looked back as they finished with their eighth-straight win in the GPAC quarterfinals.

 Harden led all scorers with 19 points, while Schuch tallied a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Oppold added 14 points and eight boards in the contest as well. The Tigers outrebounded Concordia 37-28 and finished with 16 second-chance points.

 DWU hosts the GPAC semifinals against rival Mount Marty University at 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Corn Palace.