SIOUX FALLS -- Valley City State University (N.D.) erased a nine-point halftime deficit on Saturday to hand the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team a 66-63 loss to open the season.
A pair of Jeffrey Schuch free throws with 2:02 remaining gave DWU a 63-61 lead, but the Tigers failed to score the rest of the game. VCSU’s Connor Entzi tied the game on the following possession, and then hit the go-ahead bucket with 33 seconds to play. Bradley Dean’s three-pointer at the buzzer was off the mark.
The Tigers, who shot 40.7 percent from the field, shot 9-for-27 from the field and 3-for-12 from 3-point range in the loss. Meanwhile, VCSU connected on 56 percent of its shots after the break.
Dean finished with a team-high 19 points for the Tigers off the bench. Koln Oppold added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Schuch scored 10 points. Mason Larson chipped in eight points and eight boards in the losing effort.
Entzi’s late baskets gave him 25 points in the win.
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DWU (0-1) plays Presentation College at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Sanford Pentagon.
