DWU men defeat Hastings College

• Carde Pennington

Luke Hagen/Republic Dakota Wesleyan’s Carde Pennington looks to drive past a Hastings defender during the first half of a game Saturday at the Corn Palace.

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The big body of Jalen Voss seemed to be everywhere.

Dakota Wesleyan University’s 6-foot-7, 240-pound sophomore swished shot after shot, leading to what he called his best game of his collegiate career.

He scored 25 points, hauled in 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season to lead the Tigers past Hastings College 91-79 Saturday in a Great Plains Athletic Conference men’s basketball game at the Corn Palace.

“We all came ready and focused, and it ignited us, especially me,” Voss said. “We were on a bit of a skid and were desperate for a win, so I came more focused.”

Voss’ 16 first-half points helped the Tigers shoot 70 percent from the field before halftime. He caught a perfect-touch pass from point guard Aireus Stephenson for an easy lay-in under the basket to open the game, one of many ways Voss put points on the board for Wesleyan, which won its first conference game of the year.

“Jalen has certainly proven to be that centerpiece that we want to continue to build around,” DWU coach Shane Murphy said. “This is probably one of the best all-around complete games we’ve seen from him.”

The Tigers played their best league game of the season so far, as they were fighting to avoid a 0-3 GPAC start. DWU trailed for only 50 seconds against the Broncos, at 35-34. But Bo LaCroix – who added 24 points and six rebounds – hit a 3-pointer and Wesleyan was never behind from there.

Voss had seven of his rebounds after the break, five were offensive boards. A few of his baskets came from a nice outside jump shot, but a number of his scores came off his own misses where he battled for a loose ball and then knocked back a tip-in.

“When he decided he was going to get a rebound, there wasn’t anyone that was going to stop him,” Murphy said.

Wesleyan led by 19 points less than five minutes into the second half. The closest Hastings got was within 11, but the Tigers spread the ball around in the second half and finished the game with five scorers in double figures.

After Voss and LaCroix, Mike Lee had 12 and Carde Pennington and Stephenson each had 11 for the Tigers, who shot 57 percent from the field and had 12 turnovers to the Broncos’ 18.

Wesleyan (4-5, 1-2 GPAC) snapped its two-game skid and is looking for its second straight win when it’s back in action at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Corn Palace against Morningside.

DAKOTA WESLEYAN 91

HASTINGS 79

Hastings (9-3, 1-3 GPAC)

Carson Blum 3-3 1-3 9, Brett Wells 2-4 2-2 6, Brady Lollman 6-14 1-1 14, Dane Bacon 4-12 2-2 12, Jake Marvin 2-6 0-0 4, Jake Hamburger 0-2 0-0 0, Alex Thyer 1-4 0-0 2, Zach Lenagh 5-7 4-6 14, Dylan Flinn 9-10 0-0 18. Totals: 32-62 10-14 79.

Dakota Wesleyan (4-5, 1-2 GPAC)

Mike Lee 5-8 1-2 12, Danny Maman 2-7 0-0 5, Luke Bamberg 0-0 0-2 0, Aireus Stephenson 4-12 2-2 11, Jalen Voss 10-15 5-9 25, Carde Pennington 5-7 0-0 11, Kris Menning 0-1 3-4 3, Bo LaCriox 7-8 7-7 24, Jade Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 33-58 18-26 91.

Halftime: DWU 55-46. 3-Point Goals: Hastings 5-17 (Blum 2, Bacon 2, Lollman 1), DWU 7-17 (LaCroix 3, Lee 1, Maman 1, Stephenson 1, Pennington 1). Rebounds: Hastings 30 (Lollman 8), DWU 31 (Voss 11). Assists: Hastings 14 (Lollman 6), DWU 15 (Stephenson 5). Turnovers: Hastings 18, DWU 12. Total Fouls: Hastings 21, DWU 15. Technical fouls: None.

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