The Raider men’s basketball team will advance to the GPAC Tournament Semifinals after defeating visiting Dakota Wesleyan 77-63 Wednesday night at the Bultman Center.
Senior guard Ben Miller filled out the stat sheet and recorded a triple-double. Miller scored 11 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 10 assists. Senior post Daniel Van Kalsbeek led all scorers and finished with 18 points. Junior guard
Zack Leeper notched 15 points and recorded six rebounds. Freshman forward Bryce Moss added 10 points.
“We came out and performed well with a lot of energy tonight,” said senior guard Josh Vander Plaats. “We did what we had to do and got the win.”
The Raiders stifled the Tigers from the start and held them to a mere 38 percent shooting from the field and only 31 percent from three-point land. In contrast, the Raiders shot 46 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.
“We had to adjust to the defense that they played as they tried to press us more in the second half,” Vander Plaats said. “We responded well to it, and we are all excited to get to play Morningside on Saturday.”
NW dominated the points in the paint and outscored Dakota Wesleyan 44-28 in that category. The Raiders also topped the Tigers 11-1 in second-chance points and outscored them 37-19 in bench production.
On Saturday, the Raiders claimed their eighth-straight victory by defeating a resilient Midland squad 89-86 at the Bultman Center. The game was senior day for the Raiders.
In a close game from start to finish that included nine lead changes, the Raiders held their composure to the very end. Vander Plaats hit four free throws in crunch time to put NW ahead of the Tigers with only seconds to spare.
In their last regular-season home game, it was the seniors who led the way for the Raiders. Miller scored a team-high 22 points. Miller also obtained nine rebounds and tallied nine assists in the contest, just missing out on a triple-double.
Senior big men Stuart Goslinga and Van Kalsbeek each scored 12 points. Leeper dropped in 13 points, and sophomore forward Levi Ettleman scored 11 points.
The Raiders shot a respectable 49 percent from field while the Tigers shot 45 percent. The Raiders managed to shoot 50 percent on three-point attempts by going 3-6 and held Midland’s attack to only 37 percent on 4-13 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Raiders will play host to Morningside on Saturday. Tipoff is at 3 p.m.
