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No. 6 Chargers use strong second-half to defeat Trojan men's basketball
December 29, 2010
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Dakota State University men's basketball team returned back to action Wednesday afternoon. The Trojans took part of the two-day Morningside Holiday Classic event at the RVSC-Allen Gym. DSU faced Briar Cliff of the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) on the first day. The Chargers used a strong second-half scoring run to defeat the Trojans 77-66.
Briar Cliff snapped DSU's three-game winning streak. The Trojans, receiving votes to the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball national poll, dropped their overall record to 8-5. 
The Chargers, ranked sixth in the national poll, raised their overall record to 14-1.
The Trojans led 12-10 with twelve minutes and 10 seconds left in the first-half. DSU went on an 18-6 scoring tear to extend their lead to 30-16 with 7:06 left before intermission.
Briar Cliff closed the first-half with a 19-9 run to cut their deficit to 39-35.
Dakota State shot 61.5 percent (16-for-26) from the field compared to the Chargers' 52.2 percent (12-for-23) in the first-half.
BC continued their scoring run in the second-half. The Chargers held the Trojans to 12 points in the first 13:05 of the second-half. BC grabbed the biggest lead of the game at 69-51 with 6:55 left in the game.
Briar Cliff outscored the Trojans 42-27 in the second-half. The Chargers limited DSU to 33.3 percent (8-for-24) from the field in the final 20 minutes of the game. BC shot 56 percent (14-for-25) from the field in the second-half.
Mike Larsen led the Trojans with 20 points. He was 6-for-11 from the field and 1-for-3 from the 3-point arc. Larsen converted 7-of-9 free-throws. He dished out three assists. Spencer Adams recorded 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Jordan King added 11 points. Bryce Snyder scored nine points and recorded five boards. Brad Martin had seven points off the bench.
For Briar Cliff, Michael Collison had 16 points. He was 5-for-6 from the field and made all six free-throws. Collison recorded six rebounds. Chase Vander Feen added 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Matt Geelan scored 11 points. He had eight rebounds and dished out four assists. Ben Sitzmann scored 10 points off the bench.
The Chargers shot 54.2 percent (26-for-48) overall from the field compared to the Trojans' 48 percent (24-for-60). Both teams made eight 3-pointers. Briar Cliff was 17-for-22 (77.3 percent) from the free-throw line compared to DSU 10-for-16 (62.5 percent).
BC won the rebounding battle 32-25.
Dakota State looks to bounce back in the winning column on Thursday night. The Trojans will face the host-team Morningside College at 7:30 p.m. It will be the third meeting between DSU and the Mustangs, with the Trojans winning the previous two meetings (75-57 on Nov. 5 and 77-70 on Dec. 18).
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
