Seward, Neb. – Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball was unable to hang on against Bulldogs of Concordia on the road Saturday, falling to 4-4 in conference play and 8-8 overall on the season.
The Quick Details
Score:
DWU 69 – CUNE 78
Records:
DWU 8-8 (GPAC 4-4)
CUNE 11-6 (GPAC 7-4)
How It Happened
Dakota Wesleyan got on the board for their opening points after a minute and a half as Blaze Lubbers collected on a layup that was assisted by Koln Oppold. DWU was quick to burn their first 30-second timeout of the half, just five minutes in and trailing 7-2. Only five minutes later, and four Tiger points scored compared to the nine CUNE points scored, Dakota Wesleyan burnt another 30-second timeout with 11:15 to play in the first half. D'Andre Dennis hit a shot beyond the arc 45-seconds later, cutting the DWU margin to 16-9. After multiple missed three-point shots from the Tigers, Nick Wittler gets one to fall for DWU with eight and a half minutes to play as the Bulldogs lead by ten, 24-14. Dakota Wesleyan continued to try and close the gap against Concordia in the first half, but key shots they needed to go in, were not falling the Tigers way, as Dakota Wesleyan climbed within nine points multiple times. With a minute and a half to play in the first half, Wittler put DWU within eight points, making one-of-two free throws he was granted after a foul on the Bulldogs. With 25-seconds left on the clock, Herman made a layup putting the Tigers in a good position heading into halftime.
Diang Gatluak opening the scoring right away in the second half with a layup cutting the deficit to six points, 40-34. After a Bulldog turnover and steal by Lubbers, the Tigers had a chance to close the margin even more, but Lubbers was fouled on the offensive rebound giving DWU a chance to run a play. Oppold, made a jump shot on the inbound throw, cutting their margin even more to 40-36. Just two-minutes into the second half, Gatluak passed the ball to Herman, who hit the shot beyond the arc, cutting the margin to three points, 44-41. After a pair of missed chances from the Tigers, and a layup from CUNE, Lubbers hit a three-point shot of his own putting DWU back within four points, 48-44 as Dakota Wesleyan called for their first full timeout of the half with 15-minutes to play. With 10-minutes to play in regulation, Herman made a three-point shot, cutting the margin back to five-points, 58-53. Both teams followed that up with a scoreless three-minutes of play until the 6:55 mark. The Tigers were unable to get any closer in the final minutes of the game as they fell to the Bulldogs on the road 78-69.
In the game, DWU shot 35.9% from the floor, 27.3% beyond the arc, and 77.8% at the foul line while grabbing 40 rebounds and dishing out 14 assists. The Tigers gave up 11 turnovers and 10 points off those turnovers. Dakota Wesleyan also notched 11 second chance points, 26 points in the paint, and 23 points off the bench.
Beyond The Results
- Kallan Herman: 21 points, 36.8 FG%, 25 3-pt%, and 83.3 FT%
- Nick Wittler: 15 points, 50 3-pt%
- Koln Oppold: seven rebounds, and six assists
Up Next
Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball is back in action for a midweek match up on Wednesday, January 11. With a 7:45 p.m. tip-off the Tigers will square up against the Warriors of Midland from the Corn Palace as DWU looks to rebound.