Courtesy of Midland Athletics
MITCHELL, S.D. — Midland University traveled to Mitchell, South Dakota, to face Dakota Wesleyan in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup at the Corn Palace on Saturday evening. A second-half surge pushed the Tigers past the Warriors as Midland fell on the road, 86-73.
Jake Orr opened the game with a layup to spark a 6-0 run for the Warriors. The Tigers finally got on the board with a three-pointer after several scoreless minutes. Jeff Rozelle IIIand Butch Lordeus combined for a 9-2 run to extend the Warriors’ lead to 15-6 with 15 minutes left in the half.
Both teams began trading baskets as Dakota Wesleyan chipped away with a 6-0 run to bring the game within two. Rozelle III answered with a bucket, but back-to-back Tiger baskets tied the game at 21-21 with 10 minutes remaining. Orr knocked down a pair of free throws, but Dakota Wesleyan responded to tie it again at 23-23.
The Warriors continued to battle, as Trey McCain, Nick Dolezal and Lordeus fueled a 6-2 run to regain a 29-25 lead. The Tigers responded with a 5-2 spurt to trim it back to one. After more back-and-forth scoring, a Dakota Wesleyan three gave the Tigers a two-point advantage, but Orr answered with a layup to tie it at 36-36 with just under three minutes left.
The Tigers closed the half on a 6-2 run to lead 42-38. Dolezal added a pair at the free-throw line, and Midland went into halftime trailing 42-40.
After the break, Dakota Wesleyan opened the second half with back-to-back layups. Rozelle III answered with a three, but the Tigers used an 8-2 run to extend their lead to eight. Rozelle III hit another three to stop the drought, but Dakota Wesleyan immediately countered with a triple of its own.
Rozelle III added five more points, followed by a basket from Orr to cut the margin to 59-55 with 10 minutes to play. The Tigers rebuilt the lead with a 7-2 run to go up nine. McCain drilled back-to-back threes, and Dolezal added a layup as Midland answered with an 8-2 run to pull within three. Dakota Wesleyan countered once more, closing the game on a 16-6 run to hand the Warriors the 86-73 loss.
Midland shot 30-of-52 (57.7%), while Dakota Wesleyan finished 32-of-60 (53.3%). The Warriors outrebounded the Tigers 29-26.
Rozelle III led Midland with a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds. Dolezal added 14 points, and McCain finished with 11.
“A really good college basketball game today. The Corn Palace is always a tough place to play.I thought we competed. We were focused and ready to play. We shot the ball really well offensively and gave ourselves a chance, but our Achilles’ heel is taking care of the ball. We turned it over too much, and they had 15 points off our turnovers. We have to have a better start coming out of halftime. Four of our first six second-half possessions came up empty with three turnovers,” head coach Tyler Erwin said. “I thought Jeffrey played his best game tonight. He rebounded really well, scored around the rim and made shots. When it comes down to it, we’ve got to take care of the basketball.”
Midland (2-5) will travel to Dubuque, Iowa, to face Clarke University (3-7) in a nonconference matchup on Saturday, Nov. 29. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
