By Tad Dorsey

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• Preseason #4 Morningside had two impressive wins in the Cornerstone Classic, knocking off #23 Indiana Tech 59-58 and the host team #12 Cornerstone 78-58.  Against Indiana Tech junior center Trey Brown scored the last of his team high 11 points at the line to give Morningside a 59-58 lead with 7 seconds left. He finished 5 of 9 from the field and 1-5 from the line.  Morningside raced out to a 27-11 lead over Cornerstone and never looked back, leading 45-24 at halftime. Star senior center Tyler Borchers was the leader, scoring 27 on 12 of 19 shooting, grabbing six rebounds, dishing out four assists, and blocking a pair of shots.  An impressive week has the preseason GPAC favorites at 2-0. The Mustangs are back in action November 8^th at Benedictine.  

• #6 Dakota Wesleyan swept the NAIA Sanford Pentagon Classic with blowout wins over rivals Dakota State and Presentation.  Star guards Ty Hoglund and Nick Harden were on in the 80-62 win over Dakota State. Hoglund was 10 for 17 with 29 points while Harden went 9 for 17 with 25 points.  In the 95-62 win over Presentation Ty Hoglund had another big day. He reached a milestone, scoring his 2,071th point to go to 4^th on the all time DWU scoring list. He finished 10 for 15 with 26 points.  Presentation stayed somewhat close in the first half before the Tigers opened the 2^nd half on a 10-0 run for a 56-32 lead.  DWU crused from there. The Tigers start the season 2-0 and are back at it at #25 Dordt on Wednesday, November 13^th. 

• #16 Jamestown has already played 5 games.  The Jimmies opened their season with a loss to the University of Winnipeg.  Jamestown took a 65-57 lead with 11:17 left on a 3 from Marc Kjos, but a late 23-3 run by Winnipeg doomed the Jimmies.  Jack Talley finished 12-24 and 7-14 from 3 for 32 points and he also got 6 rebounds. They followed with a close 97-95 win over Brandon University.  The Jimmies overcame an 11 point halftime deficit and dodged a game winning three from Brandon. Jack Talley went 8-13 and 4-8 from 3 with 22 points and 8 rebounds.  Brady Birch was 8-9 with 17 points and 6 rebounds off the bench. They followed that with a 90-78 win over Mayville State. An early 14-2 second half run gave Jamestown some distance here after a tight first half.  Jamestown had 5 double digit scorers. Mason Walters led the way with 10-14 shooting and 23 points off the bench. Their third win was a 97-62 win at RV Presentation College. They again had balanced scoring with Mason Walters going 7-13 with 18 points and 8 rebounds.  The Jimmies had another star off the bench in a 104-86 win over Valley City State. Terrell Alford went 9-14 and 5-8 from 3 for 25 points. Mason Walters had another big game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Jamestown is 4-1 and next is in action at RV Dickinson State on November 6^th.  

• #25 Dordt opened their season with a home victory over Waldorf, winning 100-63.  The Defenders took a 31-20 lead early in the first half and never looked back. Dordt was led by Jesse Jansma going 7-11 and 6-9 from 3 with 22 points.  They followed with a road victory over Valley City State, beating the hosts 86-76. Dordt had a strong first half, leading 42-28 at the break. An early run by the hosts cut the lead to 57-54 with 12:01 left.  Dordt had a double double by Garrett Franken, as he scored 15 and collected 11 rebounds. Cade Bleeker went 5 of 8 from the field to score a team high 16 points. The Defenders again took the road against Mayville State, falling 96-80 to the Comets.  Dordt took a 36-35 lead late in the first half but fell behind 40-38 at the break. They got as close as 50-49 in the 2^nd half but could not catch MSU.  Another strong effort by Garrett Franken, going 10 for 23 with 24 points and adding 11 rebounds for his 2^nd consecutive double double.  Zach Bussard was strong off the bench going 8 for 12 with 20 points and 7 rebounds.  The Defenders are 2-1 and next take on Viterbo.  

• RV Briar Cliff kicked off the season with an exciting double overtime victory over NAIA DI Graceland.  The final score was 116-112. Senior Jackson Lamb was dynamic, scoring 49 points on 15-23 shooting. Lamb went 10-16 from three.  He also added 11 rebounds for the double double. The 49 points is the 6^th best in school history, best since joining the GPAC.  Ethan Friedel also shot the ball well, going 10 for 20 and 7 for 14 from 3 for 32 points.  The Chargers followed that with a victory at #22 Bellevue in the Bellevue Classic, knocking off the hosts 81-76.  BCU had 5 players in double digits led again by Jackson Lamb’s 20. The Chargers had an early 17-5 run to take a 28-13 lead.  Bellevue made it closer in the 2^nd half, cutting the lead to three, but they could never catch BCU.  In the final game of the Bellevue Classic the Chargers knocked off Nebraska Christian 115-69.  The Chargers were again led by Lamb, as he went 5-11 for 18 points. The Chargers are 3-0 and back in action in the Presentation Classic against Dakota State on November 8^th.  

• Northwestern opened the season strong, with a 144-44 win over Oak Hills Christian.  It was never close as NWC was up 69-26 at halftime and took the 2^nd half 75-18.  Their leading scorer was Trenton De Haan with 9-11 shooting and 20 points off the bench.  The Red Raiders followed that up with a loss at Mayville State, falling 81-57. MSU broke a 30-30 tie with a 12-0 run to close the first half.  Craig Sterk had 12 points and 12 rebounds for a double double. They followed with a 99-68 win at Valley City State. This time it was the Raiders to close the 1^st half strong, with a 16-2 run to go up 51-31 at the break.  Trent Hilbrands was strong, going 8-12 and 6-8 from 3 for a 27 point effort.  The Raiders are 2-1 and next host Ozark Christian on November 8^th. 

• Hastings opened with an upset over #23 Friends, knocking off the Falcons 87-76.  Hastings had a 25 point lead with 7:38 left before a full court press by Friends allowed them to narrow the gap.  Bart Hiscock led the Broncos with 30 points on 11 of 15 shooting and 13 rebounds for the double double. In their 2^nd game they bested Dakota State 99-84.  Hiscock was strong again going 13-22 and 4-9 from 3 for 31 points.  Their first loss was a close matchup with Benedictine, as Hastings fell 78-76.  The Ravens scored the game winning basket with a half second remaining. Hastings was down 5 late before tying the game with two free throws from Hiscock and a three pointer by Logan Cale.  Hiscock was again the leading scorer, but he was only 5-15 shooting. He went 9-10 from the line for a 22 point game. They followed with a win over RV Dickinson State 84-71. Brenden Lipovsky scored 22 points on 9-14 shooting.  Hiscock also hit 9-14 for 21 points. Hastings closed out the week with a 108-74 win at Sterling College. Hiscock was 9-10 with 29 points to lead the Broncos. Hastings is 4-1 and next goes on the road for their conference opener with Doane on the 13^th of November. 

• Concordia opened their season with a 93-60 win over Dakota State.  The Bulldogs were led by Brevin Sloup with 24 points on 9-13 shooting and 6-10 from 3.  They then upset #23 Friends with a 74-69 victory. Tanner Shuck matched Sloup with 17 points to led the Bulldogs.  Sammy Adjei was 7-10 with 15 off the bench. Concordia took the lead for good on a two point basket by Brevin Sloup with 6:15 left for a 57-55 lead.  Concordia also defeated RV Dickinson State 90-62. Tanner Shuck had 18 points on 7 for 12 shooting. Chuol Biel had 13 rebounds in the game while also contributing 8 points.  Their last game was a thriller, as they edged past Benedictine 66-65. Carter Kent scored the game winning basket with 4 seconds remaining assisted by Tanner Shuck. This countered a three that Benedictine hit off a Shuck turnover with 16 seconds to go.  Kent finished with 18 points on 5 of 11 shooting, also adding 5 rebounds. Brevin Sloup led the Bulldogs with 19 points. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and next host Midland in the conference opener on November 12^th. 

• Midland started with a two point loss to Bethany, falling 80-78.  The Warriors saw a 10 point halftime lead drain away as the Braves hit a basket at the buzzer to win.  Midland overcame a slow start with a 12-2 run sparked by a 3 from Malik Martin. Ryan Williams led Midland with 31 points on 12-23 shooting and 7 rebounds.  Midland beat RV Kansas Wesleyan 77-72 for their first win. KWU had an 8 point lead with 13 minutes left. The Warriors comeback was led by Laurence Merritt scoring a pair of threes to keep it close.  He also scored 11 of Midland’s last 12 to cap the comeback. He finished with a team high 22 points on 8-13 shooting and a perfect 4 for 4 from 3. The Warriors beat Dakota State 77-68 in OT in Madison, SD.  Midland executed a 10 point 2^nd half comeback after falling behind 36-26 at the half.  Midland dominated in OT allowing just one score from DSU.  Ryan Williams led the Warriors with a double double of 29 points and 13 rebounds.  Midland is 2-1 and resumes play with a home match-up with DI York College on November 5^th.

• Doane has had a rough start, losing all four of their games.  They started with a 70-65 loss to York. Anthony Laravie was strong in defeat, scoring 27 on 11 of 15 shooting.  Isiah Sykes also contributed a double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers lost to #21 Warner 82-68.  Laravie was the leader again going 8-11 and 5-7 from 3 to score 21. In a road match-up against University of Virgin Islands they lost 75-67.  Miguel Lopez went 8-11 with 23 points and 9 rebounds. They also fell to Waldorf 73-59. Fahad Tarjali and Isiah Sykes each scored 11 to lead the Tigers.  The 0-4 Tigers are back in action in a home match-up with Bethel on November 5^th. 

• Mount Marty has started strong.  They beat Waldorf 86-82 in their first game.  Chris King scored 26 on 9 of 18 shooting. The Lancers blew out Oak Hills Christian 123-35.  This is their 2^nd highest scoring total of all time.  Trent Wilson had a double double of 19 points and 14 rebounds.  The lone loss for Mount Marty came at home against York, falling 80-70.  Colby Johnson scored 24 on 10 of 19 shooting. Jailen Billings had 14 on 5-10 shooting.  The Lancers were strong in the South Dakota NAIA Basketball Classic, beating Presentation 90-54 and beating Dakota State 65-51.  Johnson led Mount Marty against Presentation with 20 points on 6-9 shooting. It was Chris King’s 24 point effort on 8-16 and 5-11 from 3 shooting that led the Lancers past DSU. Mount Marty has started 4-1 and next travels to Valley City State on November 8^th.  

Tad’s Power Rankings

1. Morningside – Was strong against tough competition in Cornerstone Classic. 
2. Dakota Wesleyan – Ty Hoglund is a difference maker
3. Jamestown – Three point shooting keeps them in any game
4. Briar Cliff – Jackson Lamb and Ethan Friedel make up for lack of experience 
5. Concordia – Exciting start with close victories, can they maintain it?
6. Hastings – Bart Hiscock off to a strong start
7. Dordt –  Rough loss to Mayville State, can they rebound?
8. Northwestern – Also a rough loss to the Comets, played well in other games
9. Midland – Solid win over Kansas Wesleyan, rough loss to Bethany and needed comeback to beat Dakota State
10. Mount Marty – Lancers off to a strong start, will be tested against better teams
11. Doane – Room for improvement with a winless start

GAMES TO WATCH THIS WEEK

16 Jamestown @ RV Dickinson State – November 6^th 

4 Morningside @ NAIA DI #9 Benedictine – November 8^th