Courtesy of Midland Athletics
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Midland University traveled to Sioux City on Wednesday night to face Briar Cliff University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference contest. A second-half surge by the Chargers proved to be the difference as Midland fell 76-63 on the road.
Briar Cliff opened the game with a 3-pointer, but Jeff Rozelle III responded with back-to-back baskets. After a Chargers basket, Rozelle III knocked down a 3-pointer to give Midland an early 7-5 advantage. Briar Cliff tied the game at 7-7 before calling a timeout.
Following the break, the Chargers went on a 6-2 run. Cole Petersen sparked an 8-0 run for the Warriors to regain the lead at 18-13, forcing a Briar Cliff timeout. Out of the break, Trey McCain scored as both teams began trading baskets. Briar Cliff later called another timeout as the back-and-forth action continued.
In the final two minutes of the half, Briar Cliff connected on a 3-pointer, prompting a Midland timeout with one minute remaining. The Chargers closed the half with a basket, but Midland held a 31-28 lead at halftime.
After the intermission, Briar Cliff opened the second half with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 31-31. Amari Rahaman jump-started an 8-3 run to give Midland a 39-34 lead, forcing back-to-back Briar Cliff timeouts.
Out of the break, both teams traded trips to the free-throw line before Briar Cliff responded with an 8-2 run to take a 45-44 lead, prompting a Midland timeout. The Chargers then went on a 9-0 run to extend their advantage to 53-45.
Petersen knocked down two free throws, and a 3-pointer from Lordeus ended the Warriors’ scoring drought and pulled Midland within three. Briar Cliff answered with a 9-4 run to push the lead to 62-54.
After another timeout, Nick Dolezal and Lordeus each made a free throw, but Briar Cliff closed the game with an 8-4 run. The Chargers went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final minutes. Brody Travis scored Midland’s final basket as the Warriors faced a tough 76-63 loss.
For the game, Midland shot 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the field, while Briar Cliff shot 26-of-54 (48.1%). Midland held a 37-31 rebounding advantage.
Rozelle III led the Warriors with 15 points, followed by Rahaman and Lordeus with 11 apiece, and Dolezal with 10.
“It’s tough to win on the road,” head coach Tyler Erwin said. “We gave ourselves a chance with a good start and did some good things in the first half. Over the last 12 minutes, we struggled to guard and came up empty offensively. We made one field goal in our last 10 possessions. Give Briar Cliff credit — they handled the end-game finish better than us.”
Midland (8-9, 4-5 GPAC) will host Dordt University (10-7, 5-4 GPAC) on Saturday, Jan. 10. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Nebraska.
