January 24, 2007

Sioux City, Iowa ~ Dana College Men’s Basketball got back on track Wednesday evening against Briar Cliff.  The Vikings edged out the Chargers 83-82 to pick up the win.

The opening three minutes did not look too good for Dana.  The Vikings missed two shots and committed a turn over and found themselves on the wrong end of a 9-2 score.  Eric Maassen (SO, Hancock, IA) hit two jumpers in the paint to spark the Vikings.  Then Jared Kitzelman (SR, Fremont, NE) hit two consecutive three pointers to put Dana up by one.  Kitzelman and Maassen scored the Vikings first 16 points of the game.  No other Viking scored in the first eight minutes.  The two teams then exchanged baskets and leads until Kitzelman hit another three-pointer to put Dana up 13 with five minutes left.  The Chargers went on a mini-run to end the half, but Dana went into the halftime locker room up ten.

The second half saw more of Kitzelman and Maassen hitting shots as Dana extended its lead.  The Vikings went up 15 points five minutes into the half as AJ Arkfeld (FR, Harlan, IA) and Teddy Cox (SR, Hawley, MN) each drained three pointers.  Midway through the second half, the Viking sharp shooters lost their touch and the Chargers warmed up.  Briar Cliff went on a 17-4 run to cut the lead down to two points.  Luckily, the Vikings shook off the slump and went on a 5-0 run to pad their lead.  Zeb Christensen (SR, State Center, IA) capped the run with a 15 foot jumper.  BC went on a run in the closing minute, but Doug Huston (SO, Olathe, KS) nailed two free throws in the final ten second to ice the win.

Jared Kitzelman led the Vikings with 23 points on eight of 11 shooting.  Eric Maassen chipped in 19 points to help Dana’s cause.  Teddy Cox added nine points, all in the second half.  Zeb Christiansen pulled down a team high five rebounds and dished out four assists.

Dana has won three of their last four games.  They now stand at 7-15 overall and 5-7 in the conference.  The loss drops Briar Cliff to 9-13 overall and 3-9 in league play.  Dana next plays in Fremont, Nebraska against Midland Lutheran on Saturday afternoon at 4:00pm.  Earlier this year, Midland knocked the Vikings off.  The Vikings are not home until January 30 when they host Grace University at 8:00pm.

For more information, contact:


Shad Beam, sports information director, (402) 426-7389, sbeam@dana.edu

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Scott Guzinski, assistant Sports Information Director, (402) 426-7949, sguzinsk@dana.edu