January 20, 2007

Blair, Nebraska ~ The Dana College men’s basketball team saw its two-game winning streak end on Saturday afternoon at the hands of Morningside College. The Mustangs thumped the Vikings, 87-57.

The first half looked like it would be a great day for the Vikings. Teddy Cox (SR, Hawley, Minn.) nailed a three-pointer that put Dana up 12-6 five minutes into the first half. The Vikings held the lead until ten minutes left to go in the half. Morningside then went on a 26-12 run to close out the period.

The second half saw colder shooting by the Vikings. Dana only shot 12 of 36 (33.3 percent) in the second period. The Vikings held a 24-17 advantage in rebounding for the half. Unfortunately for Dana, most of their rebounds would come from their own missed shots. Jared Kitzelman (SR, Fremont, Neb.) pulled down six rebounds in the half. Five of those boards would be of the offensive variety. Eric Maassen (SO, Hancock, Iowa) added five more rebounds and score eight points.

Overall, the Vikings were led by Cox with 14 points. Kitzelman, Maassen, and Jon Person (SO, Olathe, Kan.) contributed eight points apiece. Kitzelman led the team with eight rebounds. Doug Huston (SO, Olathe, Kan.) and AJ Arkfeld (FR, Harlan, Iowa) each dished out three assists.

The loss drops the Vikings to 6-15 overall and 4-7 in Great Plains Athletic Conference play. Morningside improves to 15-8 and 8-4. Dana will be off until Wednesday night when they travel to Sioux City, Iowa, to take on Briar Cliff at 8 p.m.