Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Ahead of the holiday break, Midland University made a trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to compete in the 2023 Cruzin Classic. The Warriors opened up play in the Cruzin Classic against (RV) St. Thomas University on a Sunday evening. After a hard-fought forty minutes, the Warriors fell in the final minutes to the host school, losing a heart-wrenching game, 81-70 to the Bobcats.
The game was tightly contested in the early moments, with St. Thomas leading 12-11 through the first eight minutes. They applied pressure, going on a 5-0 run to take the largest to that point. Derek Merwick ignited Midland’s offense with an 11-0 run that propelled them to a 27-17 advantage.
Breaking their scoreless streak, the Bobcats and Warriors engaged in a point-for-point exchange as the clock ticked down. Ryan Larsen scored five points in the final minutes of the period as Midland took an advantage of 38-31 into the break.
After the intermission, the Bobcats initiated a 5-0 run to narrow the gap. Jake Orr energized the Warriors as they countered with a 10-0 run, seven of which came from Orr. With the margin at an even dozen, St. Thomas used a timeout as it looked to respond. They did just that as they orchestrated a 10-4 run, cutting the lead to six. Amidst another back-and-forth exchange of baskets, St. Thomas converted two consecutive three-pointers, followed by a layup to seize a 63-61 lead with 7:07 remaining.
Larsen brought the game back even, 63-363, with a layup as the teams continued to trade baskets. Deadlocked at 68-68 with 3:33 left, St. Thomas embarked on a game-clinching 14-2 run to secure the win on the opening night of the classic, 81-70.
Derek Merwick led Midland with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Jake Orr and Ryan Larsen were close behind in scoring with 12 points each while Jake Rueschhoff and Jack Cooper with 10 points each.
For the game, Midland shot 27-of-65 (41.5%) while St. Thomas shot 33-of-68 (48.5%). The Bobcats excelled behind the arch with 10 three-pointers and converted 22 points off of Midland’s 14 turnovers.
“I thought we played really well tonight. We put ourselves in position with four minutes to play on the road in a tough environment to win in,” said head coach Tyler Erwin. “The difference in the game is the last four minutes. We had a few empty possessions offensively and couldn’t get the stop down the stretch. We also turned the ball over, which led to easy baskets for them.”
“All-in-all, we played extremely well against another ranked opponent. We did a great job of following our game plan,” added Coach Erwin. “We did a great job of preparation, just needed to tighten it up the last few minutes and a couple of these games will go our way.”
Midland (5-8) will have a quick turnover, as they will face Florida National (3-8) in its second game of the 2023 Cruzin Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. (CT) on Monday, December 18 in Fort Lauderdale.
