Courtesy of Midland Athletics
HASTINGS, Neb. – Midland University made a short trip to take on Hastings College in a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) matchup on Tuesday Night. After a back-and-forth game that saw several lead changes and ties, the Warriors came up just short as they fell to the Broncos, 85-76.
Brayden Thompson opened up the contest with a layup that sparked the Warriors’ early offense. Midland turned up the heat on the defensive end as it went on a 9-0 run to start the contest. After a quick timeout, the Broncos hit back-to-back layups to break their scoreless drought. The Warriors added to the lead with a 7-2 run, boosting their lead to 16-6 with 14:30 to go.
After trading baskets, Hastings went on an 11-4 run to bring the game even at 32-32 with less than four minutes to go in the first. The Broncos’ run continued as they took a 43-37 at halftime.
Following the intermission, the Warriors began to battle back. Layups by Derek Merwick and Ryan Larsen left Midland trailing by three points and after a three-pointer by Dominic Humm, the was knotted a 52-52. Jeffrey Rozelle III followed with a three-pointer to give the Warriors a lead.
Hastings continued to push back, firing off a three-pointer to tie it at 55-55, and then went on a 6-3 run en route to a five-point lead. Midland continued to battle as Rece Kissingerstepped up and made a pair of free throws just before a layup by Merek tied the game at 63-63 heading into the final five minutes of action.
Down the stretch, the Broncos were able to pull away as they connected on just enough shots in crunch time. The Warriors, who never gave up came up a few possessions short, 85-76.
Jake Rueschhoff led the team with 19 points. He was joined in double figures by Derek Merwick with 15, Brayden Thompson with 14, and Ryan Larsen with 12.
For the game, Midland shot 27-of-54 (50%) while Hastings was 32-of-59 (54.2%). The Broncos had two more three-pointers made (10 to 8) and held a five-point advantage in points off turnovers (12 to 7) as the Warriors turned it over a dozen times.
“Once again, we did a lot of positive things tonight,” said head coach Tyler Erwin. “When you shoot over 50% from the field and have good offensive numbers, you hope to be in a position to win the game, which I thought we were. We just couldn’t get the stop we needed at times and we’re still striving to have a complete 40-minute game. Credit Hastings. They had a few of their players make tough, contested shots when they needed them to.”
Coming up this weekend, the Warriors will host the Midland Thanksgiving Classic. The event will feature a pair of games on Saturday, November 25, and on Sunday, November 26. The first game will feature No. 4-ranked Langston (2-0) taking on Bellevue (2-6) at 4:00 p.m. followed by Midland (1-4) hosting Haskell (1-6) at 6:00 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont.
