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Warriors Coast Past Vikings with Big 2nd Half
The
opening night of Great Plains Athletic Conference men’s basketball
was deemed rivalry night. Dana College hosted its top rival Midland
Lutheran on Tuesday night. Unfortunately for the Vikings, the
Warriors overcame a one-point halftime deficit and walked away with
a 76-61 win.
Dana
looked to have the better of the first half as they trailed only
twice. Early on, the Vikings jumped out to a 10-4 lead with strong
play inside from Eric Maassen (JR, Hancock, Iowa). The
Warriors kept the game close for most of the first half with each
team exchanging baskets. Dana took its largest lead of the night as
Zach Genant (JR, Springfield, Neb,) drained a three pointer
with 5:27 left in the half. Midland started hitting the offensive
glass the last five minutes of the half to pull within one point,
32-31.
The
Warriors outscored the Vikings 45-29 in the second half en route to
their first conference victory of the year. The Warriors used a hot
shooting performance from the three-point arc in the second half to
take a 53-39 lead with ten minutes to play. The Vikings got as close
as 14 late in the second half,, but the lead was just too much to
overcome as the Warriors coasted to victory, 76-61.
Maassen led all scorers with 21 points. Maassen also pulled down
nine rebounds and blocked two shots in the loss. Gabe Bross
(JR, Omaha, Neb.) added eight points. Trent Albers (SR,
Davenport, Neb.), Genant, and Nate Thies (SR, Norfolk, Neb.)
each added six points. Sean Johnson (SO, Council Bluffs,
Iowa) dished out a team-high four assists.
Midland
shot 8-17 from the three point line for the game which would be a
difference maker as Dana only shot 3-13 from the outside the arc.
The visiting Warriors (3-2, 1-0) handed Dana (4-4, 0-1) its
third straight loss.
Dana
travels to Rapid City, S.D., for the South Dakota Tech Classic on
Friday and Saturday. The Vikings will play Black Hills State at 5
p.m. MST on Friday. On Saturday they will square off against the
Hard Rockers of South Dakota Tech at 5 p.m.
For More Information, please contact:
Shad Beam, Sports Information Director,
402-426-7389 or sbeam@dana.edu
Story written by SID intern TJ Bartels |
