Courtesy of Midland Athletics
JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Midland University played inside Harold Newman Arena on Saturday afternoon against No. 11 University of Jamestown. The Warriors battled from behind and could never recover against the Jimmies, falling 104-87 on the road. Midland’s record drops down to 9-16 overall and 3-14 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), while the Jimmies kept the top spot in the conference standings at 14-3 and run their season record to 22-3.
Mason Walters got things started for the Jimmies on offense taking a 12-4 run in the early going. Colton Uhing had two back-to-back baskets on a 9-5 run for the Warriors which ended at the 12:49 mark.
Walters led another charge as they compiled a 17-7 spurt to give them a cushion thanks to 67% shooting in the first 20 minutes. With 11 first-half three-pointers, they mounted their biggest lead before the break, 58-33, but Midland garnered a 10-0 scoring stretch led by Jake Rueschhoff just before the break.
Back onto the floor after the intermission, Emanuel Bryson and Jake Orr made baskets often in the second period. With 9:41 to play, second chances helped the Jimmies reach their biggest lead of the contest, 95-66. They owned the board in the second half, pulling down 22 rebounds compared to the Warriors’ 9.
Orr scored a team-high 23 points while adding 6 steals and 6 rebounds. Bryson topped his season’s best as he finished with 20 points. He scored 12 points from beyond the arc, going 4-for-6. Ryan Larsen was the third player for Midland in double-digits with 10 points on the afternoon.
“Jamestown is a tough place to play,” commented head coach Tyler Erwin. “[It’s a] tough environment. We played well enough offensively but couldn’t get stops. Walters is a really good player…National Player of the Year candidate. Jamestown is a complete team that can score in a lot of different ways and tonight, they shot the ball extremely well in the first half.”
When asked about the Warriors’ difficulties, Coach Erwin explained. “[We] need to play a complete game…If you look at the box score, we won the second half and did a lot of good things, but good teams expose you… Jamestown did that tonight.”
Midland (9-16, 3-14 GPAC) will be idle until next weekend when they’ll host Dakota Wesleyan (12-12, 8-8 GPAC) for Senior Day. Game time inside the Wikert Event Center is slated for 3:45 p.m. with a pregame recognition for Samuel Mailloux and Emanuel Bryson beforehand. The Warriors will look to avenge an early season loss against the Tigers as they fell 74-68 on the road.
