SIOUX CENTER, Iowa -- The Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team had few answers for Dordt offense on Wednesday night in the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals.
The Defenders shot 56.7% from the field in the first half and only got hotter in the second 20 minutes — firing at 63.6% from the field to power a 93-66 win at DeWitt Gymnasium. The loss ends the season for DWU with a record of 13-16.
Dordt finished with a 60-18 advantage in points in the paint and DWU had a tough night shooting the 3-pointer, finishing 12-for-41 from deep. Jacob Vis had 21 points for the Defenders, while Jackson Loucher had 20 points off the bench on 9-for-11 shooting, and Bryce Coppock scored 19 points.
For DWU, Blaze Lubbers had a team-high 16 points, with 12 from Kallan Herman, with nine points from Samuel Aslesen and seven points from senior Alan Kikwaki. Fellow senior and DWU’s leading scorer Koln Oppold was kept to five points and seven rebounds. Overall, DWU shot 33.8% from the field.
DWU stayed close for 12 minutes in the first half, trailing 25-24 but were then outscored 19-8 from there to halftime by the Defenders. But in the second half, DWU never got closer than 12 points and Dordt rolled into the GPAC semifinals.
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It is the first time the Tigers, who were also 13-16 last season, have had back-to-back losing seasons in nearly 20 years, dating back to 2004-05 (8-24) and 2005-06 (14-17).
Dordt (23-6) advances to face No. 2 seeded Morningside at 3 p.m. Saturday in the GPAC semifinals in Sioux City, Iowa. The Mustangs won 101-95 over crosstown rival Briar Cliff on Wednesday.
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