MITCHELL, S.D. – The No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team is off to their best start to a season since 2014-15 after defeating Doane University, 79-51 in a Great Plains Athletic Conference battle Saturday at the Corn Palace.
Ty Hoglund (Dell Rapids, S.D.) kicked off the scoring with four-straight 3-pointers to give DWU a 9-7 advantage. Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) made a layup a few moments later to join the scoring.
Leading by three points midway through the half, Samuel McCloud (Rapid City, S.D.) knocked down a 3-pointer to double the DWU (11-1, 6-1 GPAC) lead.
Doane (4-11, 0-6 GPAC) tied the game with a 3-pointer with six minutes to play in the first half. With under four minutes left in the half, Doane took a 29-27 lead following a layup.
However, McCloud hit a shot from beyond the arc, followed by a Harden layup to give DWU a three-point lead. With a few seconds remaining, Harden picked the pocket of the Doane player and pitched the ball ahead to Hoglund who made a layup as time expired.
DWU opened the second half on an 11-2 run over a seven-minute span to hold a 50-34 lead. Doane cut the lead to 13 points moments later.
However, DWU built its' lead up to 20 points after a Hoglund 3-point basket. Over the final seven minutes of the game, DWU finished on a 13-4 run to secure a win in the final conference game of 2019.
Harden paced the team as he tallied 21 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and four steals. Hoglund notched a game-high 36 points along with four rebounds, while McCloud added six points and 12 rebounds.
DWU shot 46.9% from the field and held Doane to just 33.9% shooting in the contest. The Tigers of DWU finished with 38 points in the paint and created 21 points off turnovers.
The Tigers battle a pair of top-25 teams this week as they take on No. 22 Keiser University at 3 p.m. on Friday, while they square off against No. 11 Ave Maria University at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Cruzin Classic in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
