Mitchell, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan dropped a close one in the Corn Place this afternoon to a shifty and athletic Hasting’s squad. After trailing by as much as 16 points in the second half, the Tigers fought there way back to take the lead after big performances from Samuel Aslesen and Blaze Lubbers. A loose ball foul in the final seconds gave Hastings the chance to take a lead with free throws and capitalized on that chance to defeat the Tigers 74-73.
Highlighted Player – Samuel Aslesen 21 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
Stat Leaders:
Points – Samuel Aslesen (21)
Steals – Kallan Herman (2)
Rebounds – Samuel Aslesen (7)
Blocks – Samuel Aslesen (2)
Recap – Dakota Wesleyan hosted the Broncos of Hastings College for the second home game of the weekend and looked to pick up another conference win after the Tigers defeated Doane the previous night. The Broncos opened the scoring with a quick jumper shot but Blaze Lubbers had an answer as he drained a triple to put DWU on the board. Both offenses would go back and forth, neither one being able to grab the momentum, even after a Samuel Aslesen fast break slam! After five lead changes through the opening six minutes, the Tigers found themselves trailing 12-11 after Randy Rosenquist Jr. made two free throws. DWU made some substitutions after the free throws and Hastings took advantage of the bench players, as they went on 19-10 run before the Tigers defense was able to slow them down. Dakota Wesleyan looked to get into their offense and score. The Tigers forced Hastings to commit 10 personal fouls in the first half plus a technical foul. DWU went 11-13 from the charity stripe in the first half and kept the game within single digits as they left for the locker rooms. Hasting held a lead of nine points, up 44-35 over the Tigers.
Lubbers came out firing as he sank another three-pointer to open the Tiger’s scoring in the second half. The Broncos looked to their point guard to lead his team and did just that as he went to the rim for flashy layups and dished out a couple assists to build the Broncos lead to 16 points with less than thirteen minutes remaining in the contest. The Tigers had plenty of fight left in them still and looked to Aslesen and Lubbers to lead the charge. Down 16, the Tigers had to push their offense and would score eight unanswered points before Hastings called a timeout. This didn’t slow the Tigers down, as they scored bucket after bucket. After the Bronco timeout with ten minutes left on the clock, the DWU offense outscored their opponent 15-6 and took the lead after Jakob Dobney drilled a triple with three minutes remaining. Hastings lost their center late after he committed his fifth personal foul and the Tigers looked to feed Aslesen with a miss-match and he took full advantage of that as he scored the last eight points for the Tigers. Aslesen scored 17 points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked two shots all in the second half as he fought for every point to give the Tigers a chance. Aslesen made a free throw to grab a one-point lead with eleven seconds on the clock. Hastings drove the length of the court and Dobney was able to force the Hasting point guard to give the ball up to a teammate who took a wild shot attempt. As the Tigers defense went for the board, they were called for a loose ball foul, giving Hastings two free throws to secure the 74-73 win. The Tigers shot an outstanding 87% from the free throw line, converting 27 of their 31 attempts and forced Hastings to commit 23 fouls in the contest.
Up Next for the Tigers –
The Tigers will look to bounce back as they travel to Sioux Falls to take on the (RV) Chargers of Briar Cliff University on November 21st with tip-off set for 7:45 PM.