Index of Sports Press Releases

Feb. 29, 2008

DWU men beat Hastings in playoff opener
By Matt Higgins • The Daily Republic

DWU’s Ike Muoneke goes up for a shot against Hastings College’s Scott Wissing (13) during the first half of their GPAC tournament quarterfinal game Thursday at the Corn Palace. The Tigers won 98-79. (Leah Rado/Republic)

The Dakota Wesleyan University men’s basketball team had its offense working in high gear for all 40 minutes in Thursday’s Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinal game at the Corn Palace. But it was the Tigers’ defense that kicked in during the second half and allowed DWU to pull away for a 98-79 win over Hastings College.

“Our offense was great,” said Tigers’ head coach John Hemenway. “We just tried to make an adjustment there at the half to play a little bit harder, communicate a little better, talk on their switches and cover up shooters better. I thought, defensively in the second half, we were much better.”

The 16th-ranked Tigers (24-7) advance to the semifinal round and will play Northwestern College (25-4) Saturday at 4 p.m. in Orange City, Iowa. This is DWU’s first trip to the GPAC’s final four in Hemenway’s three years on the bench.

“We were really ready to play this game,” said Tigers’ junior forward Preston Broughton. “We haven’t won a conference tournament game since I’ve been at Wesleyan, so it’s a new accomplishment.”

The Broncos once-promising season ended with Thursday’s loss. Hastings opened the year 15-0, but went just 5-12 the rest of the way to finish 20-12. DWU played a significant role in the Broncos’ second-half skid, beating them three times in the season’s final two months.

“It’s a lot easier to beat a team three times when you’ve beat them twice already,” Hemenway said. “I don’t know what it is. We just have their number right now.”

When the two teams met in Hastings on Feb. 2, the Broncos’ 6-foot-11 center Bobby Kempf blocked eight shots and clogged the lane, forcing DWU’s outside shooters to carry the offense. Thursday, DWU was able to lure Kempf away from the basket to open up the lane, and the Tigers took advantage all game long. Right off the opening tap, DWU point guard Andrew Lasche got free for a layup, then took his man off the dribble for another bucket and a quick 4-0 lead.

“We tried to keep Kempf out, away from the basket, and we just kept driving and trying to get in the lane,” Lasche said. “We knew we had to come in and be confident and make some shots and we definitely did that.”

Kempf answered with a dunk and a putback to tie the score and start a back-and-forth battle. Over the next 11 possessions, the lead changed hands seven times and there were three ties.

Hastings’ guard Derrik Spooner hit a three for a 14-12 lead, but Chase Walder came off the bench to spark a DWU run. Walder drove in for a game-tying layup, then found fellow freshman Brady Wiebe for an easy basket and hit two free throws to give the Tigers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the half. However, the Broncos got hot from three-point land (7-for-11), and, despite shooting 73.1 percent from the floor in the half, DWU’s lead was just two, 47-45.

The Broncos quickly tied the game at 47-47 after halftime, but DWU rattled off a 7-0 run to regain the lead. The run culminated in a big blocked shot by Ike Muoneke that resulted in a Lasche three-point play at the other end.

The intensity picked up between the two teams and several heated exchanges took place over the next few minutes until Hastings’ Kyle Wamsley received a technical foul. Fitzgerald took advantage by hitting both free throws, and the escalated atmosphere on the floor seemed to push the Tigers’ to play better.

“They challenged us,” Hemenway said. “We’re at home. We have two seniors playing their last game here. If someone comes into your place and challenges you a little bit, I like to see our guys stand up and play well. I think that’s great. It’s part of the game.”

Hastings was able to hang around a 10- to 12-point deficit until Broughton emphatically ended any hope of a late comeback. With 3:06 remaining, the junior set a pick for Marcus Vontz at the top of the key and rolled to the basket. The Broncos doubled Vontz, so he slipped a perfect pass into Broughton’s hands for a two-handed slam as he was fouled. The free throw was good, the lead was 94-78, and the Tigers were moving on.

“It seems like Marcus always finds me for an easy layup or an easy dunk,” Broughton said. “We had a pretty good lead and they were kind of making a run and I think that sealed the deal.”

Broughton led the way with 21 points and Fitzgerald added 19 on 7-of-9 shooting. Lasche joined them in double figures with 14 points and Walder scored 11 off the bench. Muoneke scored nine, Marcus Vontz and Nelson each scored eight, and Wiebe had six points and eight rebounds as the Tigers defined balance.

“We had a lot of contributions today from just about everybody,” Hemenway said. “I can’t think of one person who played today that didn’t’ play well offensively. When we play like that on the offensive end, we’re tough to beat.”

The Tigers’ shooting didn’t cool off much after halftime. DWU shot 63.6 percent from the floor, 57.1 percent on three-pointers and 71.4 percent from the line. They managed to hold Hastings to just 35.5 percent from the field in the second half, and despite giving up 18 offensive rebounds, DWU tied the Broncos on the glass, 34-34.

Waid Vontz led Hastigns with 20 points, Jeremiah Slough had 16, Kempf had 14 points and nine rebounds and Spooner scored 10.

The win sets up a third meeting between the Tigers and the seventh-ranked Red Raiders. Northwestern, a 91-63 winner over Sioux Falls Thursday, beat DWU twice this season by a combined total of seven points, so the Tigers would like another crack at knocking off its rival.

“I feel real confident that we can go in there and give them a really good game and maybe pull off the upset,” Broughton said. “Right now, we’re playing a little bit better than we were then. I think now we’re really focused and we’re really ready to play.”

Morningside and Briar Cliff will meet in the other semifinal game.