POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – The Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team played its second nail-biting game in a as many days, this time coming out on the wrong side of the result against York College Friday at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Mo.
The No. 5 seed Tigers could not hold a second-half lead as the Cinderella No. 8 seed Panthers stormed back for the 78-77 win in the second round of the 2016 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship. The loss ends DWU's season with a record of 23-11.
After trailing by six in the final minutes, the Tigers had a chance to win the game with one last shot in the final seconds, but senior forward Jade Miller's (Mitchell, S.D.) last-second attempt from the corner did not get off in time and missed the mark.
In his final game as a Tiger, Miller showed up in a big way for DWU. The 1,000-point club member scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds to keep DWU even with York all game.
One night after setting Keeter Gymnasium on fire with a tournament-high 40 points, senior guard Trae Bergh (Crooks, S.D.) stepped up big again. Bergh scored a game-high 30 points, including five 3-pointers, while grabbing eight rebounds. After passing DWU legend Gordon Fosness on the all-time scoring list Thursday, Bergh moved up another spot in his final game. Bergh surpassed Randy Fletcher for seventh on the all-time DWU scoring list, finishing his career with 1,847 points and a DWU record 329 made 3-pointers.
Junior guard Tate Martin (Mitchell, S.D.) finished the 2015-16 season two assists shy of tying Lynn Frederick's (1976-77) single-season mark of 227. Martin dished out four assists in the loss to York, while adding 10 points.
In his final appearance in a Tiger uniform, senior forward Terrell Newton (Huron, S.D.) scored six points and added a team-high seven assists.
The Tigers shot 22-of-57 from the field, 8-of-27 from deep and 25-of-28 from the line, while outrebounding York 38-36.
The Panthers were led by Johnny Cooksey with 18 points, while Cameron Coleman added 16 points and eight rebounds. York shot 32-of-76 from the field, 4-of-22 from 3-point range and 10-of-13 from the line.
DWU is 5-2 over the last two seasons at the NAIA tournament after making the national title game a year ago. York moves on to play Indiana Wesleyan University in the quarterfinals Saturday.
