First Half Flurry - Quick start sends Mustangs to 2-0

GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – A 16-3 run during the middle of the first half helped spark the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' No. 4-ranked Morningside College Saturday, Nov. 2.

In the midst of a top 15 national clash with the Cornerstone University Classic hosts, head coach Jim Sykes' Mustangs used the stretch to balloon a close-knit start (11-8 Mside) to a 27-11 margin. The Maroon continued to add to the equation, eventually entering halftime with a 45-24 lead. Cornerstone managed to trim down a 26-point second half deficit to inside of 20 but could get no closer, as Morningside departed The Great Lakes State with a resounding 78-58 victory.

A night after limiting perennial Division II national tournament contender Indiana Tech to a similar point total, the Mustangs' defense was back at it. They held CU to 36.1 percent field goal shooting overall and a frigid seven of 27 outing from three-point range (25.9 percent) while turning 18 home team turnovers into 21 points.

On the offensive end, senior forward/center Tyler Borchers (SR/Le Mars, IA ) (LeMars, Iowa) stepped to the forefront with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting to go with six rebounds, two blocked shots, and four assists. Fellow senior Alex Borchers (SR/South Sioux City, NE ), a native of South Sioux City, Neb., produced 11 points, five assists, two steals, and four rebounds while also hitting 50 percent from outside the arc (three of six), and junior guard Zach Imig (JR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) tallied 15 points and four rebounds for a balanced starting attack. Senior forward Ben Hoskins (SR/Wayne, NE ) (Wayne, Neb.) was only two points short of becoming a fourth Morningside player in double figures to spotlight a bench effort that also featured four rebounds.

Mside takes its 2-0 record to Benedictine University of Kansas' Classic Friday and Saturday, Nov. 8 and 9.