Courtesy of Midland Athletics
FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University hosted Mount Marty University on Wednesday night for another Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) matchup. A dynamic offensive start propelled the Warriors to a well-earned and decisive victory, 92-65 over the Lancers.
Mount Marty initiated the game with a trip to the free throw line just before Jake Rueschhoff kickstarted the Warriors, who opened with an 11-5 run. Ryan Larsen sustained the momentum with consecutive three-pointers, complemented by a layup from Rueschhoff to add pressure to the Lancers early on. In response, the visitors from Yankton, South Dakota swiftly countered with an 8-2 run of their own. The run featured a pair of threes and a layup to leave them trailing by just three points, prompting a timeout from the Midland bench.
Following the brief pause, the teams engaged in a back-and-forth exchange of points. The Warriors showcased a well-rounded offensive strategy, embarking on an 18-3 run to extend its lead to double digits. The first half concluded with a score of 45-27 in favor of the home team. Derek Merwick had six points at the break, while Jeffrey Rozelle III and Jack Cooper added three each.
After the intermission, the Warriors picked up where they left off, embarking on a 9-2 run that compelled the Lancers to call an early timeout. Merwick contributed six points while Larsen added three as the game’s eventual outcome became clearer.
With several reserved logging minutes down the stretch, the teams then engaged in a point-for-point exchange before a final run of 8-2 extended the gap between the sides. Despite the Lancers’ best efforts to stage a comeback, a 15-6 run to narrow the gap, the Warriors remained resilient. An 18-8 run over the final minutes secured the 27-point victory, 92-65.
Derek Merwick led all players with 26 points to go along with 15 rebounds for a double-double. He also added five assists, five steals, and a block as he stuffed the stat sheet. Ryan Larsen contributed 14 points and was joined by Jake Rueschhoff and Jake Orr who had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
For the game, Midland shot 41-of-77 (53.2%) while Mount Marty was 25-of-62 (40.3%). One of the keys to the game was the Warriors’ ability to force 17 turnovers which translated into 20 points.
“I am really proud of our guys. We’ve been hard on them,” commented head coach Tyler Erwin after the wing. “We’d been making some steps and then go up to Northwestern, who is tough to beat at home, and we just didn’t play very well. That was disheartening. To come back on a short week, I loved our fight, our competitiveness, and our resilience. That’s something we’ve talked about quite a bit lately.”
“Our focus the past few weeks, and especially after the break, has been defensively. Getting stop. Being locked in. Finishing plays with rebounds,” added Coach Erwin. “Coach Cam [Schuknecht] is in charge of our defense and he has been on our guys and we’ve had some heated practices. Which is great because I feel like we’ve got one side [offense] kind of figured out. We need to keep creating our defense to offense, and not the other way around. We can’t rely on offense every single night.”
Midland (8-10, 3-7 GPAC) will be back in action at home later this week with a home contest against Morningside (13-4, 8-2 GPAC). The Warriors will look to avenge an earlier loss to the Mustangs in the conference rematch on Saturday, January 20 in Fremont. In addition to the game, several former players will be back on campus for Alumni Day inside. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center.
