Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – Midland University faced No. 23-ranked Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) matchup on Saturday night. It was an evenly played game throughout between the two teams, with four different lead changes. Ultimately, it was the Defenders’ ability to get to the free throw line that aided them to an 88-78 victory on their home floor.
Dordt opened up the contest with a 5-0 run before Brayden Thompson broke open the Midland scoring column with back-to-back layups. Jake Rueschhoff connected on a three-pointer to put the Warriors up 7-6 early on. After matching each other’s points, the Defenders slowly began to pull away going with a 10-0 run to take a 23-11 lead. Ryan Larsen sparked the Warriors’ offense, as they responded with a 12-0 run to bring the game to a 23-23 tie.
As the team continued trading baskets, Derek Merwick had back-to-back baskets to give the Warriors the lead heading into the final five minutes of the opening half. It was a close contest as both teams battled, testing each other’s defense. The game came back to a 40-40 tie with two minutes left to go before Dordt closed on with a 10-5 run to take a 50-45 lead at intermission.
After the break, Thompson started the Warriors off again with a jump shot. As the Defenders were close to pressing their lead to double-digits, Jeffrey Rozelle III, followed by a three-pointer by Merwick sparked the Midland offense.
Dordt fired off three straight three pointers, allowing a pair of free throws as its lead moved back into double digits. Midland continued to battle going on a 13-4 run to trail by just one, 75-74, with 5:41 remaining in the game.
The Warriors, who worked so hard to narrow the gap, started to get into foul trouble. The Defenders took advantage of that opportunity as they closed the game on a 12-4 run with 9 points coming from the free throw line, winning 88-78.
Brayden Thompson led the Warriors with 18 points, followed closely by Derek Merwick with 14, Jake Rueschhoff and Dominic Humm each had 11 points to round out the top scorers for MU. Rueschhoff’s point total moved him past a career milestone of 1,000 points. He is the 40th member of the Midland 1,000-point Club following tonight’s GPAC contest.
For the game, Midland shot 31-of-68 (45.6%) while Dordt shot 30-60 (50%). The Defenders were 20-for-25 (80%) at the free-throw line, a key stat in their win over the Warriors.
“We did a lot of good things tonight on the road in a hostile environment,” commented head coach Tyler Erwin, “I’m really pleased with the team’s effort. Numerous times we got down, but we bounced back against a ranked opponent. There are a lot of things that we can take away and build upon. I’m really happy with the fight and effort; it’s never perfect but it gave us a chance.”
“If we could have gotten a couple more stops down the stretch and a few more quality offensive possessions, I feel like the outcome might have been different,” added Coach Erwin. “There’s a lot to learn from, but there are also a lot of positives that we can take from these last couple of games.”
Midland (1-3, 0-2 GPAC) will travel to take on Hastings (5-2, 2-0 GPAC) next week. The Tuesday night game is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. inside Lynn Farrell Arena in Hastings, Nebraska.
