DWU falls to red-hot Dordt

The shots continued to fall for Dordt College, forcing Dakota Wesleyan University into rally-mode all night.

Dordt, ranked third in the nation, knocked down 15 3-pointers and shot 57 percent from the field in a 95-78 Great Plains Athletic Conference win over the Tigers Wednesday at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

“We never could get them to turn it over and we never could get them to miss,” Dakota Wesleyan coach Shane Murphy said.

The Tigers stuck with the Defenders for nearly the entire game. Wesleyan trailed by four points at the half. After Dordt pulled away in the second half for a double-digit lead, Tigers guards Mike Lee and Aireus Stephenson helped rally their team within six with 8:08 to play.

Stephenson’s falling-down 3-pointer from the wing with just more than eight minutes to play fired up the Tiger bench and crowd, pulling Wesleyan within 70-64.

But Dordt got back-to-back 3-pointers, and the Tigers hit their breaking point. They just couldn’t keep up with the Defenders anymore.

“When they’re not missing, there’s not much we can do,” said Lee, who finished with a team-high 20 points.

The shot that seemed to really stun DWU was with 6:20 left, when Dordt’s Cliff Warner drained a three from the top of the arc for a 76-64 lead.

The 6-foot senior, who averages about 15 points per game, was 7-of-14 from three-point land. He finished with 21 points, matching teammate Trevor Wolterstorff to lead all scorers.

The Tigers held Dordt’s two starting forwards to two and seven points, respectively, but it was the Defenders’ guards who handed Wesleyan its fifth loss of the year.

“We knew we were going to expose ourselves to three-point shooting to try and take away their bigs,” Murphy said. “They’ve been so dominant and so tough all year.

“They showed us why they’re as good as they are. You take one thing away, and they can beat you another way. Tonight, it was with the three-point shot.”

After Warner’s shot that put Dordt up by 12, his team kept its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.

DWU, which shot 52 percent from the field, had four scorers in double figures. Jalen Voss recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, Danny Maman knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and Stephenson had 19 points and four assists.

The Tigers (3-5, 0-2 GPAC) are in action next at 4 p.m. Saturday when they host Hastings at the Corn Palace.

DORDT COLLEGE 95

DAKOTA WESLEYAN 78

DWU (3-5, 0-2 GPAC)

Mike Lee 7-14 4-4 20; Danny Maman 6-10 0-0 15; Luke Bamberg 1-6 0-0 2; Aireus Stephenson 9-13 0-0 19; Jalen Voss 4-10 4-4 12; Carde Pennington 2-3 0-0 4; Bo LaCroix 1-3 0-0 2; Jade Miller 1-1 2-2 4

DORDT (8-1, 2-1 GPAC)

Cliff Warner 7-14 0-0 21; Austin Katje 6-12 2-2 18; Trevor Wolterstorff 8-10 4-4 21; Kyle Lindbergh 1-3 0-1 2; Jordan Vogel 3-4 1-2 7; Rees Beaver 0-0 0-0 0; Nathan Rindels 1-1 0-0 2; Shawn Keizer 3-4 2-2 11; Tyler Wolterstorff 0-2 2-2 2; Chris Sievers 4-8 3-3 11

Halftime: Dordt 43-39. 3-point goals: DWU 6-14 (Maman 3), Dordt 15-27 (Warner 7, Katje 4). Rebounds: DWU 26 (Voss 10), Dordt 29 (Katje 7). Assists: DWU 9 (Stephenson 4), Dordt 19 (Warner 7). Turnovers: DWU 15, Dordt 14. Total fouls: DWU 14, Dordt 17. Technical fouls: none.

Tags: sports, updates, dwu, basketball, men, tigers