Mitchell, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball team hosted the Warriors of Midland University this afternoon in the second half of the GPAC schedule. The Tigers battled with the Warriors and came out victorious 92-80, led by none other than Jakob Dobney. Dobney led all scorers in the contest after he only scored six in the first half. Blaze Lubbers did work on the glass as well as he grabbed 12 rebounds. Lubbers, Randy Rosenquist Jr. and Samuel Aslesen scored double figures as well to help the Tigers get the win at home.
Highlighted Player – Jakob Dobney 22 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block.
Stat Leaders:
Points – Jakob Dobney (22)
Assists – Jakob Dobney (5)
Rebounds – Blaze Lubbers (12)
Blocks – Samuel Aslesen (4)
Recap – After Dakota Wesleyan dropped a close one at home against Northwestern, the Tigers went to work to bounce back. Kallan Herman started the game with a pair of free throws to get the scoring started. Midland took the lead at 17:34 on the clock with a three-pointer and held onto a two-possession lead until Samuel Aslesen got himself into the box score with a smooth post move to go up 16-14. The Tiger offense, usually a three-point shooting team, looked to the paint instead and found success there. Diang Gatluak entered the contest and helped contribute to the paint scoring as he attacked the rim and dished off a pair of dimes to cutting teammates. DWU built a lead after Ethan Determan drilled the Tiger’s first triple with less than nine minutes remaining in the first half. It wasn’t long until the Tigers got out to an 11-point lead after a Blaze Lubbers bucket. Midland started to turn it on though and fought back into the game and cut the lead to two points at the 2:51 mark. Gatluak wanted to give Dakota Wesleyan some energy and threw down a mean dunk over the smaller Warrior. The Tigers held onto a six-point lead going into the half.
Aslesen and Randy Rosenquist Jr. got the scoring started in the second half, Rosenquist converted an early and-one to bump the lead back out to ten points. Midland didn’t like what they saw and called a full timeout only two and a half minutes into the half. After the break, Midland chipped into the Dakota Wesleyan lead, staying within five points. As the Tigers only had a two-point lead, Determan came back in and drilled his second triple of the game, giving the offense a boost. Another three pointer came just a few possessions later as Oliver Vincent drilled a three of his own. Coach Wilber called a timeout with a six point lead at the five minute mark to give his squad a breather. After the timeout, the Tigers would outscore the Warriors 18 to 12, drilling twelve free throws in that time to put away an Warrior comeback attempt. The Tigers made 20 of their 26 free throw attempts and forced the Warriors into 11 turnovers. Behind Lubbers 12 rebounds, the Tigers outrebounded Midland by six. Four starters scored at least 12 points in the 92-80 win.
Up Next for the Tigers – Dakota Wesleyan will travel to Hastings, Neb. to face off against the Broncos. Tip off is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on February 2nd.