Conference Cliffhanger - Morningside holds off Dordt

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – Junior forward/center Tyler Borchers (JR/Le Mars, IA ) (LeMars, Iowa) and junior forward Matt Hahn (JR/Fremont, NE ) (Fremont, Neb.) proved key down the stretch for Morningside College Saturday, Jan. 12.

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Division II number four ranked squad got an intense contest from visiting Dordt College over 40 minutes with a crowd of better than 1,000 fans sitting on the edge of their seats inside Allee Gymnasium at the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center. In the end. Borchers, wrapping up a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, canned a left-side jumper and hit a twisting turning lay-up, while Hahn, ending a stout effort with 20 points, five steals and three assists, got a loose ball near mid-court and flushed it home to the delight of the home crowd in the final minute to decide a 94-92 victory.

That final 60 seconds decided what looked to be a comfortable home outcome early on. Head coach Jim Sykes' squad, moving to 16-1 overall and 10-1 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, roared out to a 37-22 lead with less than six minutes to go in the opening frame. Dordt, undeterred, went to the long ball with great success closing the first 20 minutes on a 22-7 run for a 44-44 halftime tie. The visitors started the second half on a similar roll, leading by as much as eight, but were overtaken in the last four minutes to enable the Maroon to begin the second half of the loop slate on the positive side.

Borchers and Hahn weren't the only two in double digits. Junior guard Alex Borchers (JR/South Sioux City, NE ) (South Sioux City, Neb.) finished with 14 points; senior guard Brody Egger (SR/Urbandale, IA) (Urbandale, Iowa) was just an assist off a double-double, scoring 10 points; and senior guard Pierce Almond (SR/Grand Island, NE ) (Grand Island, Neb.) led the bench with 12 points, all of which occurred from four three-point baskets, and one critical steal that transpired after a missed free throw in the final three seconds to preserve the decision.

The Mustangs hit the road for two in a row next week. They begin the set at Nebraska Christian College Wednesday, Jan. 16, and wrap it up with a trip to Northwestern Saturday, Jan. 19.