dsu athletics news
dsu athletics pages
DSU men’s basketball upsets No. 23 Morningside in Ed Harter Classic
November 11, 2011
MADISON, S.D. - Dakota State faced a nationally-ranked team from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) for the second straight game at DSU Fieldhouse. The Trojans trailed by seven points early in the second-half, but rallied back down the stretch for a 78-72 victory over Morningside Friday night in the second game of the Ed Harter Classic.
Dakota State bounced back in the winning column after a double overtime 99-90 loss to No. 7 Northwestern (Iowa) last Tuesday night. The Trojans improved their overall record to 3-1, the best start in more than the last 15 years in team history. Morningside, No. 23 in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Poll, dropped to 1-2.
DSU went 4-for-4 from the field in the first three minutes and 23 seconds to grab an 8-3 early lead. The Mustangs answered back with five straight points to tie the game at 8-8 with 15:03 left in the first-half.
Despite shooting 60.9 percent from the field in the first-half for DSU, the Trojans committed 18 turnovers compared to the Mustangs' nine as MC earned a 38-34 halftime lead. Morningside outscored DSU 16-6 in points off turnovers in the game's first 20 minutes.
The Mustangs extended it to their largest lead of the game at 43-36 with 18:55 left in regulation. DSU responded by using a 9-2 run to tie the game at 45-45 with less than 16 minutes left.
Morningside maintained their lead between one- and four-points for the next seven minutes. With MC leading at 62-61, a jumper by DSU's Luke Lamb gave the Trojans a 63-62 lead with 6:45 left in the game.
As the Mustangs regained their lead at 67-66 with 4:31 left in regulation, the Trojans scored six straight points to grab a 72-66 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
Dakota State sealed the win by extending the game's largest lead of the game at 78-69 with 12 seconds left. The Trojans outscored the Mustangs 44-34 in the second-half.
Spencer Adams scored 20 points for Dakota State. He was 7-for-13 from the field and converted five of seven free-throws. He pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Yusef Gray and Jesse Bean each scored 11 points. Keith Biggers had 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. He was 5-for-6 from the field. Donald Stewart dished out five assists and grabbed seven rebounds. Lamb had nine points and stole the ball four times in the game.
For Morningside, Bryan Borchers had 19 points and recorded seven rebounds. Storm Throne scored 17 points off the bench. Garth Hamilton scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Trent Miller had five assists.
Dakota State shot 54.5 percent overall from the field (30-for-55) compared to the Mustangs' 40.7 percent (24-for-59). Morningside converted 19 of 29 free-throws (65.5 percent), while DSU made 15 of 25 free-throws.
DSU outrebounded the Mustangs 41-30. The Trojans committed 24 turnovers compared to Morningside 23.
Graceland (Iowa), a NAIA Division I team, defeated Mayville State 84-79 in overtime in the first game of the Ed Harter Classic. Brad Burgus had 37 points for the Yellow Jackets. He was 9-for-22 from the field and 16-for-18 from the free-throw line. Gus Kueber had 25 points for the Comets.
The Ed Harter Classic concludes on Saturday. Mayville State and Morningside will battle in the first game at 4 p.m., followed by DSU-Graceland in the night cap at 6 p.m. All games will be held at the DSU FIeldhouse.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
