Hot second half propels Mustangs to road GPAC win

MITCHELL, S.D. — Morningside men's basketball picked up its first conference win of the season Wednesday night, using a red-hot second half to defeat Dakota Wesleyan 81-75 at the Corn Palace.

The Mustangs (3-4, 1-1 GPAC) shot 63 percent in the second half, going 17-for-27 from the floor, and finished at 56 percent for the game. Morningside also knocked down 13 three-pointers and recorded 22 assists on 32 made baskets.

"Once we took a breath, and we executed our stuff, that gave us a chance," said head coach Trent Miller on the KMNS-AM postgame show. "I'm proud of the guys responding and ultimately finding a way to win a close one, especially doing it on the road."

Four starters scored in double figures, led by Daniel Brocaille, who had 17 points, four rebounds and four late free throws to help seal the win. Caleb Dreckman added 15 points and five assists, scoring nine after halftime, while Alex Wilcoxson finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting and a team-high two steals.

"I thought our guys did a good job of finding others where they could score it," Miller said.

Kaden Van Regenmorter turned in one of the best all-around performances of the night with 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The freshman from Western Christian High School also hit three second-half 3s.

Tyson Odvody added six points and five boards. Off the bench, Brayden Dinkla provided eight points and four assists, and Derek Quinlin added a key first-half three.

Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan were tied 37-37 at halftime before the Mustangs' offense took over. Odvody connected on the go-ahead layup that made it a 68-67 Mustangs lead with 5 minutes, 53 seconds remaining.

The Mustangs also forced 12 turnovers and held DWU to 46 percent shooting. Morningside owned slight advantages in rebounds (32-28), points in the paint (38-32), second-chance points (9-4) and fast-break scoring (17-9).

Morningside returns home at 3:45 p.m. Saturday to host Mount Marty inside Allee Gymnasium.