Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University opened up play in the Thanksgiving Classic against Haskell Indian Nations University on Saturday night at home, inside the Wikert Event Center. After a feverous comeback in the second half, the Warriors fell short in the final seconds, losing 89-87 to the Indians.
Both teams opened up the contest by going back and forth on points to keep it knotted at an 8-8 tie in the early going. The Indians started applying pressure as they went a 15-4 run to create separation. Jake Rueschhoff sparked the 7-0 run for the Warriors, drilling a pair of three-pointers followed by a free throw from Derek Merwick. Midland continued to battle it out, forcing the game back even at 28-28.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Ryan Larsen sparked a lead for Midland. Haskell quickly responded with a 14-0 run, heading into the final five minutes of the half. Rueschhoff broke the Warriors’ scoreless drought with another three-pointer but the Indians continued to tally up points as they took a 49-41 lead into halftime.
After the intermission, Haskell was issued an administrative technical foul for not submitting its second-half starters in a timely manner. Rueschhoff stepped up and made the one-shot technical free throw. Moments after, he connected on a layup, pulling the Warriors within five points, 49-44.
Both teams began to trade points. The Indians started to pull away, taking their largest lead just past the midway point, 80-67.
Trailing by 13, the Warriors quickly mounted a comeback, going on an 8-0 run to narrow the gap. Beginning to match points again, Rueschhoff hit a three-pointer to bring it to within two points, 84-82, with 3:16 to go in the game.
After a timeout from the Indians, Dominic Humm connected on a corner three-pointer to put the Warriors in front 85-84, heading into the game’s final minutes. The lead was short-lived as Haskell got an opportunity at the free-throw line where they connected on two shots to regain the edge. The teams continued to battle it out, as Rueschhoff made a layup, followed by a layup on the other end by Haskell.
With nine seconds left in regulation, a missed opportunity at the rim by the Warriors resulted in a rebound by the Indians. A four with two seconds on the clock sent them back to the foul line, up just one point. After making the first, they intentionally missed the second shot. MU rebounded the ball and called timeout with 0.3 seconds on the game clock. Following timeouts by each team to set strategies, Midland’s full-court heave was tipped away and Haskell held on for the 89-87 win.
Jake Rueschhoff led the Warriors with points with 21. Ryan Larsen added 15 off the bench while Brayden Thompson and Dominic Hum each had 12 points. Derek Merwick had a double-double with 10 points and 11 assists.
For the game, Midland had the edge in shots on the night 31-of-59 (52%), while Haskell was 35-of-70 (50%). The Indians did have the advantage behind the arc, going 14-of-25 (56%), including 10 three-pointers in the first half.
“Over the last few games, our offensive numbers have been really good. We’ve scored it at a pretty high clip, our percentages have been pretty good,” commented head coach Tyler Erwin. “Our focus has turned to defense. Getting stops we need them, guarding the ball, contesting, and rebounding. We fought back to go up one within the final minute. We played fairly hard, for the most part, at times. It’s definitely something we’re still trying to figure out.”
Midland (1-5) will have a short turnaround as they prepare for the second game of the Thanksgiving Classic, taking on Bellevue (2-7) on Sunday. The first game of the final day of the classic will feature No. 4 Langston (4-0) vs. Haskell (2-6) at 1:00 p.m. Tipoff for Midland and Bellevue game will follow at approximately 3:00 p.m. in Fremont.
