BRACKETOLOGY

By Tad Dorsey

Current Standings

  • #2 Morningside took over first place outright with a 2-0 week.  They started with a 92-66 win at Midland. They were led by Alex Borchers, Zach Imig, and Trey Brown with 14 points each.  It was a very balanced game for the Mustangs. They closed out “Morningside Week” as they called it with a Saturday rivalry victory over Briar Cliff, winning 81-72 in front of a crowd that was extra pumped after watching the Mustangs football team advance to the NAIA Championship with a 21-16 win over Grand View.  After a competitive start that saw several lead changes and the Mustangs up 22-21 early, the Mustangs dominated. Briar Cliff rallied late to make it closer, but this was another strong performance by the Mustangs, who should be the #1 team in NAIA DII on Wednesday after #1 Oregon Tech lost. Morningside is 10-0 and 5-0 in the GPAC.  This week they host Concordia on Wednesday and are at Jamestown Saturday.  
  • #6 Dakota Wesleyan took their first loss of the season at the Corn Palace 106-98 against a game Mount Marty team.    The first half was very competitive. The Lancers and Tigers traded the lead several times, with DWU closing the half on a 14-3 run for the 49-41 halftime lead.  The second half saw a lot of dynamic runs with both teams playing very strong offensive basketball. Ty Hoglund played great basketball in the loss, going 14 for 16, 5 for 6 from 3, and 10 for 11 at the line for 43 points.  Tyson Smiley had 25 points and 9 rebounds. The Tigers rebounded by knocking off Concordia on the road with a 77-57 victory. The Tigers lead 35-31 at halftime before pulling away with a strong second half. Nick Harden led the charge, going 11 for 22 with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists.  The Tigers fell to 9-1 and 5-1 in the GPAC. The Tigers host Valley City State on Saturday and and Doane on Saturday.  
  •  #23 Dordt split their two games this week.  They lost a very competitive and high scoring game at Jamestown, 110-107 in overtime.  The Defenders came out very strong, leading 46-23 with 7:14 left in the first half. Jamestown rallied to cut the halftime deficit to just 53-46.  Dordt got back up by 14 early in the first half with some baskets from Garrett Franken. The Jimmies took the first lead of the game, going up 95-94 with 2:36 left. Dordt regained the lead with a three from Cade Bleeker and two free throws from Ben Gesink to go up 99-95 with 52 seconds left.  Jesse Jansma made one of two free throws to go up 100-98 with 7 seconds to go before Jamestown tied it at 100 to force OT. Chad Barkema opened OT with a three for Dordt before the Jimmies rallied for the victory. Bleeker lead Dordt with 29 points and 6 rebounds. Franken had 23 point and 6 rebounds, while Barkema had 18 points.  The Defenders rebounded with a close victory over Midland, 96-87. The Warriors came to play, and after a lot of lead changes Dordt found themselves trailing 77-68 with 6:11 left in the game. They scored the next 8 with baskets from Jansma and Franken. A three from Franken with 3:48 left gave Dordt the 81-79 lead, and from there they never trailed.  Jesse Jansma had a career game scoring 41 points on 13 of 19 shooting and 7 of 13 from 3. Barkema and Franken each added 17 points and 9 rebounds. Dordt is 9-4 and 3-3 in the GPAC. They are at Hastings on Saturday for the only game this week.  
  • RV Northwestern played great basketball this week.  They got a strong road win over Briar Cliff, winning 85-83 in another overtime game.  Northwestern built a huge lead early, being up 16-6 out of the gates. At that point the offense stagnated for a bit, before the Chargers rallied to cut the lead to 38-34 at halftime.  Northwestern played well early on in the 2nd half to extend the lead, but Briar Cliff proved difficult to put away.  The Raiders found themselves down by 4 points with just over a minute to go after a three from the Chargers.  At this point they trusted the ball to Trent Hilbrands, where he hit a dagger three despite a Charger foul. He added the free throw to tie the game and force OT.  The Raiders played tough in OT to get the victory. Hilbrands finished with 25 points on 9 of 19 shooting. Jay Small had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Craig Sterk had 12 points and 12 rebounds.  The Raiders also beat Hastings 93-76, pulling away in the 2nd half.  They were led by Jay Small, who was 11-18 with 28 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds.  Craig Sterk had 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting and 8 rebounds. Northwestern improves to 10-2 and 4-1 in the GPAC.  They are at Midland next Saturday.  
  • RV Mount Marty picked up their signature victory of the season, upsetting #6 Dakota Wesleyan in the Corn Palace, 106-98.  This was their third win in a row against a ranked team, and their 5th win in a row overall.   This was the first Lancer victory over DWU since December 12th, 2012, breaking a 12 game losing streak.  Mount Marty completed the upset behind a phenomenal 2nd half scoring effort.  After trailing 49-41 at halftime, they put up 65!! points in the final period.  To do that, in the Corn Palace is unbelievable. The Corn Palace is an incredibly difficult place to play, and to come back on the Tigers like that was very impressive.  Mount Marty shot 61% in the 2nd half, and 56% from 3 point land.  They were poised at the line making 18-19 in the 2nd frame.  These are video game like numbers against the #6 team in the country.  Jordan Johnson was the leading scorer, posting 35 points on 13-18 shooting, 5-6 from 3 with 4 rebounds as well.  Chris King was also solid, going 8 for 16 and 6-12 from 3 for 26 points. Colby Johnson had 25 points on 6-11 shooting with a perfect 12-12 effort at the line.  The Lancers won their 6th straight with a 69-61 victory at Doane.  Jordan Johnson had 19 points while Chris King had 14.  The Lancers improve to 12-2 and 5-1 in the GPAC. They are hosting Concordia on Saturday. 
  • Briar Cliff continued a brutal stretch in the schedule, dropping two more tough games to extend a 5 game losing streak.  They lost the home OT matchup against RV Northwestern 85-83. Briar Cliff struggled to find offensive rhythm early on, but they got going in the 2nd half.  Briar Cliff battled to keep Northwestern close for most of the game, and they finally broke through for the lead with 7:49 left on an and 1 from Jackson Lamb.  Briar Cliff maintained the lead late, and got a 4 point lead on a three from Conner Groves, before allowing Northwestern to tie the game. Lamb hit a 3 to open OT, but Northwestern scored the next 5 and kept the lead.  Lamb played all 45 minutes, scoring 24 points on 7 of 13 shooting, and added 12 rebounds and 5 assists. Austin Roetman was also solid going 7 for 14 with 23 points. The Chargers also lost against crosstown rival #2 Morningside 81-72.  It was close early until Morningside went on a 13-0 run midway through the first half. Jackson Lamb had an incredible game, going 14 for 27 with 38 points and 5 rebounds. Briar Cliff falls to 7-5 and 1-5 in the GPAC. The Chargers host NAIA DI Grand View on Tuesday.  
  • Jamestown got back into the win column with an intense 110-107 OT victory over 23 Dordt.  The Jimmies started very slow, falling behind by 23 just 12 minutes+ into the game.  A three from Isaiah Dobson capped an 11-0 Jimmie run to cut the lead to 12. Another 12-4 run to close the half cut the lead to 53-46.  A three from Terrell Alfred cut the lead to 89-87 with 5:28 left. The Jimmies gained the 95-94 lead with 2:36 left on a basket from Brady Birch.  The Jimmies saw themselves down by 4 with 52 seconds left, before Dobson converted a three point play and another basket to tie the game and force OT.  Birch scored six points in OT to get the win. Dobson scored a career high 30 points on 11 of 19 shooting. Terrell Alfred added 28 points on 12-20 shooting with 4 assists.   Brady Birch had 26 on 11 of 16 shooting, while also getting 13 rebounds. The Jimmies improve to 8-4 and 2-3 in the GPAC. They host Dickinson State Monday and #2 Morningside on Saturday.  
  • Concordia got a victory in 2 overtimes against Doane, 83-77.  A recap was not available for the game. Carter Kent led the way for the Bulldogs with 22 points and 9 rebounds.  Tanner Shuck had 10 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals, while Chuol Biel contributed 13 points and 11 rebounds.  The Bulldogs lost to #6 Dakota Wesleyan 77-57. The leading scorer for the Bulldogs was Brevin Sloup with 12 points, Justin Wiersma had 10 points.  Concordia is 7-2 and 2-2 in the GPAC. The Bulldogs have two difficult road matchups, against #2 Morningside on Wednesday and RV Mount Marty on Saturday.  
  • Hastings ended a four game losing streak with an 87-63 victory over Nebraska Christian.   Bart Hiscock was strong for the Broncos, getting 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting, and adding 9 rebounds.  The Broncos were not able to slow down RV Northwestern, losing 93-76. It was tight early, with the Broncos taking a 29-28 lead on a basket from Zach Kitten.  The Raiders took a 42-37 lead into half time and rolled in the 2nd half.  Hiscock had 28 points on 10 of 16 shooting and 4 rebounds.  Hastings is 6-5 and 1-4 in the GPAC. They are hosting 23 Dordt Wednesday before an exhibition matchup with Nebraska-Kearney on Friday.  
  • Midland could not hang with #2 Morningside, falling 92-66.  This game was never close. Ryan Williams played well off the bench, scoring 12 points and 6 rebounds.  Emanuel Bryson also scored 12. The Warriors played much better at 23 Dordt, just missing out on the upset with a 96-87 loss.  There were several changes in momentum, and it led to a tie game at 61-61 midway through the 2nd half.   Afterwards, Midland rallied to take a 9 point lead with six minutes left on a basket from Kylan Smallwood.  Dordt answered quickly and took the victory. Midland falls to 3-7 and 1-4 in the GPAC. They host RV Northwestern on Saturday for their only game this week.  
  • Doane lost 83-77 to Concordia in double overtime.  Anthony Laravie had a strong game, scoring 24 points and 12 rebounds.  Miguel Lopez also played well, scoring 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 assists.  Doane also fell to RV Mount Marty 69-61. Laravie had 20 points and 4 rebounds while Jaxon Harre added 13 points and 4 rebounds.  The Tigers fall to 4-10 and 0-5 in the GPAC. They are at #6 Dakota Wesleyan on Saturday.  

TAD’S POWER RANKINGS

  1. Morningside – Top tier team in the country
  2. Dakota Wesleyan – Loss to MMC doesn’t take away from their talent
  3. Northwestern (+1) – Continues to pick up quality victories
  4. Mount Marty (+1) – This team deserves some respect after the victory @ DWU
  5. Dordt (-2) – Tough loss at Jamestown
  6. Jamestown (-) – Got back in the win column by upsetting Dordt
  7. Briar Cliff (-) – They’ll be happy to see the schedule get lighter
  8. Concordia (-) – Split with Doane and DWU
  9. Hastings (-) – Couldn’t hang with NWC
  10. Midland (-) – Played well against Dordt in a game they could have won
  11. Doane (-) – Still looking for that elusive GPAC win

Stat Leaders

Points Per Game

  1. Ty Hoglund (DWU) 26.00 ppg
  2. Jackson Lamb (BCU) 25.75 ppg
  3. Bart Hiscock (HAS) 23.55 ppg
  4. Chris King (MMC) 20.83 ppg
  5. Colby Johnson (MMC) 18.42 ppg

FG%

  • Tyler Borchers (MOR) 68.5%
  • Zach Imig (MOR) 60.2%
  • Colby Johnson (MMC) 58.2%
  • Bart Hiscock (HAS) 55.6%
  • Mason Walters (JAM) 55.1%

3pt%

  • Nick Hoyt (BCU) 54.3%
  • Ben Hoskins (MOR) 54.1%
  • Laurence Merritt (MID) 52.9%
  • Ty Hoglund (DWU) 48.3%
  • Trent Hilbrands (NWC) 47.3%

Free Throw %

  • Jackson Lamb (BCU) 92.1%
  • Ty Hoglund (DWU) 87.1%
  • Ethan Friedel (BCU) 86.8%
  • Isaiah Dobson (JAM) 85.7%
  • Jesse Jansma (DOR) 85.4%

Assists per game

  • Zach Imig (MOR) 4.20 apg
  • Isaiah Dobson (JAM) 3.92 apg
  • Sammy Green (BCU) 3.83 apg
  • Matt Hahn (MOR) 3.80 apg
  • Jordan Johnson (MMC) 3.75 apg

Rebounds per game

  • Mason Walters (JAM) 10.27 rpg
  • Garrett Franken (HAS) 8.31 rpg
  • Choul Biel (CON) 8.00 rpg
  • Bart Hiscock (HAS) 7.82 rpg
  • Miguel Lopez (DOA) 7.57 rpg

Blocks per game

  • Chuol Biel (CON) 1.78 bpg
  • Craig Sterk (NWC) 1.64 bpg
  • Brock Schrom (JAM) 1.58 bpg
  • Mason Walters (JAM) 1.00 bpg
  • Josh Van Lingen (DOR) 1.00 bpg

Steals per game

  • Isiah Sykes (DOA) 2.00 spg
  • Laurence Merritt (MID) 1.56 spg
  • Matt Hahn (MOR) 1.50 spg
  • Samuel McCloud (DWU) 1.50 spg
  • Elijah Pappas (MMC) 1.50 spg
  • Chris King (MMC) 1.50 spg

GAMES OF THE WEEK

2 Morningside @ Jamestown Saturday December 14th 4pm CT

Concordia @ RV Mount Marty Saturday December 14th 4pm CT

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