TIGERS LOSE IN THE FIRST ROUND OF GPAC PLAYOFFS ON THE ROAD AT NORTHWESTERN, 78-65

Orange City, Iowa –

Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball team faced the Red Raiders in the quarter final round of the GPAC Playoffs. Northwestern grabbed the quarterfinal win over the Tiger 78-65. The Tigers were unable to get runs together and keep up with the Raider offense after trailing by as many as 14 points. Dakota Wesleyan would lose out of the playoffs with this loss and finish the regular season with a record of 14-15 and 9-11 in the GPAC.

Highlighted Player – Blaze Lubbers 17 points, 5 rebounds, 5/8 3PT FG

Stat Leaders:

Points – Blaze Lubbers (17)

Assists – Randy Rosenquist Jr, Blaze Lubbers (3)

Rebounds – Kaden Year (8)

Blocks – Diang Gatluak (1)

Recap –

The Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball team traveled to Orange City, Iowa for their GPAC Playoff matchup against the topped ranked Red Raiders of Northwestern University. Blaze Lubbers opened the contest with a triple from the right wing, the only lead of the first half for DWU. Northwestern would go on a 7-0 run to take the lead. The Raiders stingy defense would hold the Tigers to under ten points until Samuel Aslesen worked his way to the rim just before the ten-minute mark in the first half. Trailing 11-25, the Tiger offense looked to score from behind the arc and found success late in the first half. Aslesen would swish a three pointer from the top of the arc and Ethan Determan would follow with a corner three ball on the next possession. After a few stops on the defensive end, DWU was able to cut their deficit to six after a pair of Diang Gatluak threes with just over three minutes remaining. Northwestern would close the half with a 6-0 run to send the teams into the break, Tigers trailed 39-27.

Coming out of the break, Northwestern went on an 15-6 run and forced the Tigers to take a timeout early in the half. DWU would struggle to find the bottom of the net through the opening minutes of the second half until Blaze Lubbers got the ball in his hands. Lubbers would make four threes late to make it a 76-60 Raider lead. The Tigers kept up with the Raiders in the second half thanks to a barrage of triples. Lubbers led the Tigers with 17 points after he made five three-point shots and freshman Kaden Year ripped down eight rebounds. The Tigers were able to close the gap, but it was too late into the contest as the Raiders took down DWU 78-65 in the quarter finals of the GPAC Playoffs. The Tigers would wrap up the season with a 14-15 overall record.