MITCHELL, S.D. — Dakota Wesleyan used a red-hot shooting performance and balanced scoring to pull away in the second half, defeating Hastings 83–70 on Saturday afternoon at the World’s Only Corn Palace.
The Tigers improved to 12-11 overall and 7-8 in GPAC play, while Hastings dropped to 5-18, 4-11.
Dakota Wesleyan jumped out early behind sharp perimeter shooting, opening the game 5-of-8 from three-point range and building a double-digit lead midway through the first half. Hastings hung around by attacking the paint and finished the half strong, but the Tigers still took a 39–30 lead into the break.
Hastings cut the deficit to seven early in the second half, but Dakota Wesleyan answered with a decisive run sparked by Easton Neuendorf and Anthony Riggans. The Tigers pushed the lead to double figures for good midway through the half and never let Hastings get closer than eight the rest of the way.
Neuendorf led all scorers with a career-high 25 points, knocking down 4-of-6 from three-point range and adding four assists. Riggans followed with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while Steele Morgan and Randy Rosenquist Jr. each added 11 points. Rosenquist also finished with eight rebounds and five assists.
Dakota Wesleyan shot an impressive 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, finishing 10-of-20 from three-point range. The Tigers also committed just eight turnovers and dished out 15 assists.
Hastings was led by Myles Simon and DaRon Hall, who scored 13 points each, while Ben Boudreau added 11 points and Christian Pujals chipped in 10 off the bench. The Broncos shot 50 percent overall but struggled from long range, hitting just 5-of-18 from three-point distance.
DWU is back in action on Sunday, Feb. 8 at Doane at 1:45 pm.