FREMONT, Neb. – Midland Universitys mens basketball team weathered a late storm from its opponent on Wednesday night to earn the team back-to-back conference wins for the first time this season.
The Warriors (7-9, 3-6 GPAC) trailed by one at the break but got shots to fall in the second half and managed to escape a late comeback attempt from the Doane Tigers (4-14, 0-9 GPAC) in an 80-72 win.
“Im really proud of our guys. There were some moments in the first half where we could have given in and said its not our night,” said Midland head coach Oliver Drake. “I really liked the way our guys came out of the locker room in the second half.”
Sophomore guard Emanuel Bryson led the Warriors in scoring for the first time in his career and totaled a career-high 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and four assists. Bryson took over in the second half and attacked the Tiger zone using his speed and ball-handling skills and got to the bucket at will as 16 of his 26 points came in the paint.
“Were pretty proud of Manny,” Drake said. “Last year at this time I dont think he was getting a minute at the varsity level, but he didnt quit and he stayed the course. When he gets a full head of steam hes pretty hard to stop.”
Brysons ability to penetrate the Doane zone helped space the floor and open up other opportunities for the Warriors. With the defense caved in on Bryson for much of the second half, the Warriors began to knock down their three-point attempts.
Midland was just 3-for-12 from deep in the first half, compared to much more impressive 8-for-13 clip in the final 20 minutes. On defense, the Warriors held Doane to just 4-for-13 from three-point range
“In this conference you really have to guard the three-point line,” Drake said. “Every night you face a team that can shoot, so thats been an emphasis for us all season.”
The Warriors never led in the first half as a lot of shots simply didnt find the nylon despite getting the looks they wanted. On the first possession alone, Midland missed three open looks, which set the tone for the rest of the period.
Doane led 17-7 midway through the opening period but couldnt keep the lead in double figures as Midland chipped away and only trailed by one at the break.
The two teams traded buckets for the first five minutes of the second half, but an alley-oop from Bryson to freshman Hunter Mengel helped jumpstart the Warrior offense. Mengels dunk cut the Doane lead to 42-41 and began what would end as a 14-0 run for the Warriors as they took an eight-point lead.
Midlands lead grew to as many as 14 in the game, prompting Doane to use an aggressive full-court press to slow the Warriors down and increase the intensity. The press worked as Midland committed a couple of untimely turnovers and forced some bad shots that allowed the Tigers to hang around and cut the lead to six in the final minutes.
Despite 24 second-half points from Miguel Lopez, Doane couldnt dig itself out of the 14-point hole as Midland held on for its second consecutive conference win and its third straight over its in-state rival.
Lopez finished with just those 24 second-half points to lead the Tigers. Garran Pauli was the only other Tiger in double figures as he finished with 16. Both big men took advantage of Midlands lack of size and depth in the post after freshman Samuel Mailloux fouled out with over 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Sophomore Bowen Sandquist joined Bryson in double figures with 23 points thanks to 5-for-9 shooting from three-point range. That total gives Sandquist four 20+-point games on the season, each coming in Midlands last five contests.
The Warriors are showing a lot of growth as they start to hit a tough stretch of conference games. The whole team is young, and each night a new guy seems to emerge as the steady hand. If everyone can continue to show signs of improvement and slow the game down in the big moments like they did on Wednesday night, the Warriors will be a tough team to beat, no matter the opponent.
“Weve kept saying to the guys to stay the course, stay the course, but you can only get them to believe for so long without a result, and now were starting to get some,” Drake said. “Since Christmas break, weve been playing some pretty good basketball, and were making progress. Thats fun to see.”
Midland travels to Yankton, South Dakota on Saturday, Jan. 11, for a 4:00 p.m. conference showdown with the No. 23 Mount Marty College Lancers. That game starts a stretch of games in which four of six will be against teams who are ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Coaches Poll.
FREMONT, Neb. – Midland Universitys womens basketball team picked up a Great Plains Athletic Conference win over Doane University by a score of 79-68 on Wednesday evening inside Wikert Event Center. Midland moves to 7-11 on the year with a 3-7 clip in GPAC action while Doane falls to 1-14, 0-10 GPAC.
GPAC.
The Warriors shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) from the field compared to 37.7 percent (20-of-53) for the Tigers. Midland outrebounded Doane 35-28 and received a spark from the bench en route to a 46-14 point edge in bench points on the night. Senior Amanda Hansen led the Warriors with 17 point to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Freshman Emma Shepard came off the bench to score a career-high 16 points (3-of-4 3PT). Junior Makenna Sullivan was the leading rebounder with nine and dished out five assists.
The first quarter saw Doane leading early before free-throws from freshman Lexi Kraft gave Midland the 6-5 lead. A three pointer from Hansen and free throw by junior Katy Gathje had Midland up 18-8 with under seven minutes on the clock. Neither team could find their rhythm as the next two minutes would go scoreless before a jumper from freshman Erin Prusa extended the lead to 12-8. Three pointers began to fall for Midland as Lexis Haase, sophomore Peyton Wingert, and Hansen each registered threes to put Midland up 21-8 with 3:03 to go. Wingert would cap off scoring in the quarter after a layup gave the Warriors a commanding 23-11 lead heading into the second quarter.
Midland would see their largest lead of the evening after a seven-point run, capped off by free throws from Hansen, saw the score at 34-17 with 5:38 on the clock. A pair of threes for the Tigers would narrow the lead, but a three by senior Maddie Meadows slowed the Doane roll as Midland went up 40-23 with two minutes remaining. The Shepard sisters wrapped up the second quarter after a three by Emma and free throws from sophomore Sam Shepard gave the Warriors a sizeable 45-25 lead heading into intermission.
The third quarter featured Midland going up 50-27 after a layup from Meadows, but a 10-1 scoring run by Doane gave the Tigers renewed energy. Emma Shepard would take matters into her own hands after free throws and a layup brought the score to 55-37 with 2:25 on the clock. Doane responded with a spurt of points, but Prusa would convert an offensive rebound to bring Midlands lead to 57-42 with just over a minute to go. The Shepard sisters would work together again in attempts to preserve a comfortable lead a back-to-back threes saw Midland leading 64-47 heading into the fourth quarter.
Doane continued to find offensive success early in the quarter, but a three by freshman Kara Jennings managed to keep Midland up 70-56 with 7:07 on the clock. The Warriors couldnt seem to find the same rhythm that was displayed early in the contest, and Doane capitalized by cutting the lead to 72-64 after a pair of free throws with three minutes to go. The Warriors took advantage of late turnovers by Doane and wrapped up the game scoring five-straight the claim a 79-68 win.
“I thought we played pretty well in the first half, making some shots and executing the way we wanted to. I thought we defended well for the most part as well,” commented head coach Shawn Gilbert. “We werent quite as crisp in the second half and Doane made us pay for it on numerous occasions. They made a push in the third and beginning of the fourth however I was pleased with the way our kids responded to finish the game.”
Midland (7-11, 3-7) will be back in action for a road contest against GPAC opponent Mount Marty College (9-7, 3-7 GPAC). The game is slated for Saturday, January 11 at 2:00 p.m. in Yankton, S.D. The Warriors have won five straight against the Lancers including 68-63 and 66-58 wins last season.
