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DWU’s spectacular season ends with loss to Cornerstone

DWU's Darrin Dorsey drives to the basket in Friday's NAIA DII National Tournament game at Keeter Gymansium in Point Lookout, Mo. (Photo courtesy of Leah Rado/Mitchell Daily Republic)

POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – For 17 straight games, the Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team has always found a way to win, and was always able to make the biggest plays in the biggest spots. Friday night, that magic finally ran out.

No. 7 DWU (28-6) was tied with No. 10 Cornerstone University (29-6) with two minutes left to play, but the Tigers picked a bad time to go ice cold and the Golden Eagles scored the game’s final eight points to pull out a 64-56 win in the second round of the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Tournament at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo.

With 1:47 to play, Cornerstone’s Kelvin DeVries launched a deep 3-pointer that hit nothing but net and gave the Golden Eagles a 59-56 lead. After DWU’s Darrin Dorsey missed a runner on the other end, Cornerstone’s Ronald Bates misfired on a pull-up jumper but teammate Matt Kingshott tipped in the miss for a five-point lead. Dakota Wesleyan didn’t score again, and its unforgettable season came to an abrupt and painful end.

Cornerstone’s final eight-point margin of victory was the largest lead all game. Before that point, neither team ever led the extremely close game by more than four points. There were 12 ties and 27 lead changes as both teams battled for a spot in Saturday’s quarterfinals.

A sloppy, back-and-forth first half ended with Dakota Wesleyan leading by the slimmest of margins, 27-26. The Tigers’ took their largest lead early at 11-7 after 3-pointers by Jake Kneeland, Preston Broughton and Darrin Dorsey. However, Cornerstone quickly answered with a 6-0 run to take a 13-11 lead.

Kneeland hit his second three to put DWU back in front, 18-15, but Cornerstone’s Caleb Simons scored his team’s next eight points and Kelvin DeVries tipped in his own miss to put the Golden Eagles up, 23-22. Dorsey and Cornerstone’s Justin Yoder traded 3-pointers, and Dorsey finished the half with a dunk to give the Tigers their one-point lead at the break.

The closely-contested first half featured five ties and 12 lead changes. Neither team shot particularly well, as Cornerstone was 37.5 percent from the floor and DWU was just 34.6 percent from the field. The Tigers turned the ball over seven times, and Cornerstone had five turnovers as both teams struggle to find their rhythm.

The Golden Eagles scored the first five points out of the locker room for a 31-27 lead, but DWU quickly countered with a 7-0 run to regain a 36-33 lead. Dakota Wesleyan matched its largest lead on a Broughton dunk that resulted in a three-point play for a 39-35 lead, but Cornerstone used a quick 6-0 run to pull back in front.

Broughton broke a 52-52 tie when he was fouled on the baseline and made the basket with 3:14 to play, but he missed the free throw. The senior fouled out just 13 seconds later and DWU only managed two Dorsey free throws the rest of the way.

Simons led Cornerstone with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double and DeVries and Bates each added 11 in the win. Kingshott was the fourth Golden Eagle in double figures with 10 points. Cornerstone shot 44.4 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent from three and 73.3 percent from the line while dominating the boards 36-26 and holding a plus-two advantage in the turnover battle.

Dorsey capped a spectacular season with another great all-around performance. The junior guard had 17 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead DWU in all three categories. Broughton added 12 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots and Kneeland was 3-for-4 from behind the arc to finish with 11 points. Brady Wiebe and Mitch Bain scored just four points apiece in the loss as DWU shot 37.3 percent from the floor, 50.0 percent on threes and 64.3 percent from the line.

Though Dakota Wesleyan’s tournament run is over, this Tiger team will still be remembered as one of the best in school history. DWU won a school record 28 overall games and 16 conference games. The Tigers’ 17-game winning streak is the third-longest in school history, and they captured their first-ever GPAC regular season and postseason tournament titles. To top it off, DWU won its first National Tournament game in 63 years Wednesday when it beat McPherson College in the first round.

Cornerstone’s season will continue Saturday when it meets the University of St. Francis (25-9) in the quarterfinals. The two teams met once this season, with St. Francis scoring an 87-76 win on Cornerstone’s home floor on Nov. 17. The game will tip off the day’s second session at 6 p.m. at Keeter Gymnasium. The winner will advance to Monday’s semifinal round, and will play for a spot in the title game at 8 p.m.