Mustangs claim GPAC, NSAA clash

FREMONT, NEB. – A white-hot field goal shooting performance Saturday, Nov. 30, enabled Morningside College to keep its 2019-20 season mark unblemished.

Head coach Jim Sykes' Mustangs hit at a torrid 63.6 percent clip on Midland University's Wikert Events Center floor. That included tossing in five three-pointers, as the Maroon, ranked No. 2 on the recent National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Division II poll, upended North Star Athletic Association foe Bellevue University 81-70 in game one of the Draemel Classic.

Mside, moving to 8-0, needed every bit of that field goal accuracy prowess. The Bruins, who had been among the divisional top 25 in the preseason, converted at an equally impressive 51.9 percent clip and nailed eight treys. However, the charity stripe proved key, as the Mustangs hit 20-of-29 attempts, and Bellevue was just eight-of-12.

Sykes' crew got another balanced attack on the individual statistics. Senior center Tyler Borchers (SR/Le Mars, IA ) (LeMars, Iowa) wound up with 23 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. It was his fifth successive double-figure points outing and marked the third time in the run that he's been in the 20-or-more territory. Junior guard Zach Imig (JR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) was next in line, tallying 14 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out two assists; senior guard Alex Borchers (SR/South Sioux City, NE ) (South Sioux City, Neb.) turned in 12 points and four assists; and freshman guard Will Pottebaum (FR/LeMars, IA) (LeMars, Iowa) ended with 10 points.

Morningside's second scheduled contest in the weekend tourney was canceled as Southern Oregon University could not make it due to weather issues. The Mustangs are back into Great Plains Athletic Conference action Wednesday, Dec. 4, for an 8 p.m. tip-off back at Midland.