Columbia, MO – Tigers shot lights out in the first half but were unable to keep it rolling in the second half. The Tigers had the one-point lead at the halftime break, but the Cougars outscored the Tigers 44-31 in the second half. Blaze Lubbers scored a team high 18 points, grabbed seven boards, and dished out four dimes to lead the Tigers.
Highlighted Player – Blaze Lubbers: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Stat Leaders:
Points – Blaze Lubbers (18)
Assists – Samuel Aslesen (5)
Rebounds – Samuel Aslesen, Blaze Lubbers (7)
Blocks – Jakob Dobney, Samuel Aslesen (1)
Recap – In the first meeting of these two teams, the Tigers looked to set the tone early. Tigers were shooting red hot throughout the first half! The offense hit 12 three-pointers in the first half and saw a lead as big as twelve points. Blaze Lubbers was on one tonight as he hit four threes and dished out four assists. Lubbers, Jakob Dobney, and Kallan Herman got the Tigers started as they sank the first four three-point buckets in the opening two and a half minutes and forced the Cougars to call a timeout. The short break didn’t slow the Tiger’s down as everyone was able to net a three pointer. Samuel Aslesen and Randy Rosenquist Jr. each got in on the three-point action to help build add onto the 10-point lead near the ten-minute mark. Nick Wittler subbed in for the Tigers and even dropped in a quick six points to extend the Tiger lead to 12. This would be the biggest lead so far in the night and the Cougars weren’t going to go away. As the DWU offense started to cool off, the Columbia offense started to click as they went on a 13-2 run in the closing minutes to cut the Tigers lead to one as the first half buzzer went off. There were only three total fouls called between the two teams in the first half and only one pair of free throws shots. The Tigers shot an impressive 66% from beyond the arc in the first half and had 12 assists.
The Tigers came out and looked to keep up the hot shooting. Herman hit a three pointer to regain the lead after the Cougars came out of the break to take a lead. DWU was unable to find the bottom of the net as much as they exchanged the lead with the Cougars until the final six minutes where Columbia was able to extend their lead to four. The Cougars would outscore the Tigers 13-5 in the closing minutes. DWU shot a hot 49% from the floor and 51% from the three-point land. Blaze shot an impressive 6-10 from the floor and made four threes. Herman and Dobney combined for six three points on the night as well. Tigers finished with 18 total three pointers.
Up Next for the Tigers –
The Tigers will be back on the same court tomorrow to take on the Trojans from Hannibal LaGrange University. Tip-off is set for 2:00 PM