MITCHELL, S.D. – After dropping its first game in 13 outings, the No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball team looks to get back to its winning ways as they prepare for a tough road matchup against (RV) Northwestern College at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Orange City, Iowa.
The Game
On Saturday, the Tigers met a hot shooting Midland team that shot 59.1% from 3-point range and 50.9% from the field. On the season, the Warriors averaged 33.9% on 3-point attempts and shot 43.8% from the field. DWU still scored 17 points off turnovers and notched 11 second-chance points. However, a 36.8% clip from the field plagued the Tigers in the 84-75 loss.
Koln Oppold (Sioux Falls, S.D.) scored a season-high 27 points to pace the team along with six assists, four boards and a pair of steals. Oppold leads the team with 8.8 rebounds per contest and ranks 12th nationally with 132 rebounds this season. Nick Harden (Chicago, Ill.) and Jeffrey Schuch (Dell Rapids, S.D.) each posted 12 points on Saturday. Harden leads the team with 16.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.1 steals per contest.
As a team, the Tigers check in at seventh in the NAIA with 62 blocks this season and are 16th in scoring defense, allowing 68.1 points per game. The first half has been a strong point for the Tigers as they are outscoring their opponents 573-481 in the first half this season.
The Coaches
In his eight seasons, head coach Matt Wilber has led the Blue and Gray to six-straight NAIA National Tournaments.
Kris Korver has been the head man for the Raider men's basketball program for 21 years. He has made 14 trips to the NAIA Division II National Tournament.
The Game
The two teams have met at the Corn Palace once this season with DWU coming away with an 82-76 victory. Tomorrow marks the 85th meeting all time between the teams, with Northwestern holding a 48-36 lead in the series.
Scouting the Northwestern College Raiders
The Raiders enter the game with a record of 11-5 overall and are 6-5 in conference bouts. They are a high-flying offensive team as they rank eighth in the NAIA in three various offensive categories. The Raiders are eighth in total assists (261), 3-point field goals made (159) and scoring offense (1,397).
Alex Van Kalsbeek is an impressive freshman who leads the GPAC in field-goal percentage, shooting 71.3% from the field. He is also second in the conference with 19.4 points per game. Jay Small can shoot it from 3-point range as he ranks sixth nationally with 44 made 3-pointers this season. He also leads the team with 4.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
The game can be livestreamed at https://nwcraiders.com/watch/?Live=105&type=Live with stats at https://nwcraiders.com/sidearmstats/wbball/summary.