Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Midland University traveled to Ray Nacke Court as they went toe-to-toe with familiar conference foe, Briar Cliff University, on Saturday afternoon. The Chargers used shots from beyond the arc to keep the Warriors at arm’s length as they come up short 75-70. Midland drops to 4-9 overall and 0-7 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC). Briar Cliff improves to 6-5 overall and 2-4 in the GPAC.
The Warriors started out strong with an 11-5 run to begin the game in Sioux City before the Chargers answered with a 9-3 run of their own to tie the game at 14.
Briar Cliff went on a 12-0 run to get some separation as Nathan Hall and Nick Hoyt led the Chargers in the run, putting them up 32-21. The Warriors pulled to within eight before halftime with Jake Orr contributing 11 points in the opening period.
After the intermission, the teams traded shot for shot until the 12:11 mark when the Warriors went on a 12-6 run to cut the lead to one. Kobe Shannon and Jake Rueschhoff powered the run as Rueschhoff took over offensively with 13 points in the second half.
Briar Cliff answered with an 8-0 run to go up nine with under two minutes to go. Midland tightened up defensively but was unable to force enough turnovers to complete the comeback falling short.
Head coach Tyler Erwin had this to say about his team’s performance. “First of all, we shot the ball better tonight. Especially from three-point percentage. Rueschhoff had a good night with 8-of-10 shooting. At times we settled a little bit and didn’t have quality possessions but if we can just limit those, we can become more consistent.”
Orr led the Warriors in points and rebounds, just two boards shy of a double-double with 19 points and 8 rebounds. Rueschhoff and Shannon entered double-digit scoring as well with 17 and 13, respectively. Ryan Larsen led the defense with five steals on the night.
Midland (4-9) will take a break from its regular season with an exhibition at the University of Nebraska-Omaha (3-7) next Tuesday. The Warriors will tip-off against the Mavericks at 12:05 p.m. on December 13 in Omaha. Coach Erwin was an assistant coach at UNO for 13 years before stepping into the head coach position at Midland this season.
