Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball team defeated the Doane Tigers Friday evening at home, 64-46. Blaze Lubbers was all over the boards this evening as he collected 15 total rebounds, three of them offensive boards. Ethan Determan led the team in scoring this evening with 16 points off the bench.
Highlighted Player – Blaze Lubbers 13 points, 15 rebounds
Stat Leaders:
Points – Ethan Determan (16)
Assists – Ethan Determan (3)
Rebounds – Blaze Lubbers (15)
Blocks – Samuel Aslesen (3)
Recap – The Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball team opened conference play at home against Doane in the Battle of the Tigers. DWU grabbed the 10-3 lead in the first four minutes of the game and forced Doane to burn a timeout. Blaze Lubbers started off hot for DWU, as he sank his first two three-point attempts and was a wrecking ball on both ends as he grabbed rebound after rebound. DWU played tough defense in the first half as they forced Doane to throw five turnovers and shoot less than thirty percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play. Samuel Aslesen even blocked two shots in the first eight minutes of the first half. DWU held Doane to single digits for a majority of the first half until the ten-minute mark, where DWU was leading 17-10. DWU would grab their biggest lead of the half with a Randy Rosenquist Jr. shifty layup with six minutes left before the half ended, as DWU went up 25-10. Doane went on an 11-4 run to close out the first half and cut DWU’s lead to 29-21.
Doane would open the scoring in the second half with a layup and cut into the Dakota Wesleyan lead. As Doane looked to force a shot clock violation in DWU’s first possession of the half, Rosenquist found Aslesen open way beyond the arc and Aslesen drained the triple from NBA range. Lubbers would secure his double-double in the next two possessions after he backed down his defender and scored his up and under layup and grabbed the defensive rebound on the other side of the floor. Doane would keep the game close as they tried to claw back into the game but DWU’s suffocating defense made it tough to get open shots. DWU forced Doane to give up six more turnovers in the second half and scored on four of those possessions. Ethan Determan came into the game and would give DWU an extra push of energy in the second half. Determan attacked Doane’s defense all night, scoring on three straight possessions to bump the lead to 20 points. Determan would score 16 points in the game, 13 in the second half as well as the last two points of the night for DWU. Dakota Wesleyan outrebounded Doane 44-38 and DWU only had five turnovers in the contest compared to Doane’s 11.
Up Next for the Tigers –
DWU is back at home for more GPAC action against Hastings. Tip-off is set for 2:45 PM at the Corn Palace.