Surging Stangs - Mside catches fire late in first half, rolls on road

SEWARD, NEB. – A 23-9 run over the final 10 and a half minutes of the first half proved the difference Wednesday, Jan. 22.

With a red-hot shooting Concordia University squad getting their home crowd at the Walz Human Performance Center into a frenzy early on, the top-ranked team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Division II had to weather the storm. Trailing by as many as 10 early on, head coach Jim Sykes' team dug in and waited for its chance. It arrived with Mside down 25-16, as senior center Tyler Borchers (SR/Le Mars, IA ) (LeMars, Iowa) and freshman guard Will Pottebaum (FR/LeMars, IA) (LeMars, Iowa) converted four straight free throws to open the critical first stanza span. When the dust settled at halftime, Morningside led 39-34, and the visiting Mustangs continued to power through in the second half, tallying 16 of the first 21 points en route to an 85-72 Great Plains Athletic Conference win.

Borchers, who ended the night with a workmanlike 23-point, 11-rebound double-double, added another historical note to an already glowing resume. His fourth field goal of the contest passed former standout Chris Kuhlmann's career field goal mark of 690, as he wound up at 696 at game's end. The two-time NAIA D2 All-American was one of five Maroon players in double digits. Senior guard Alex Borchers (SR/South Sioux City, NE ) (South Sioux City, Neb.) wound up with 14; junior center Tyler Brown (Gretna, Neb.) had another big bench performance with 12 points and six rebounds; junior guard Zach Imig (JR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) compiled 10 points and six assists; and freshman guard Will Pottebaum (LeMars, Iowa) resumed an impressive first collegiate campaign just a rebound off a double-double (10 points, nine boards, two steals, and a blocked shot).

The Mustangs, winners of 44 of their last 50 regular-season conference games, take their 21-0 overall and 13-0 loop record back home to Allee Gymnasium and the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center Saturday, Jan. 25. Game time against Mount Marty College is 4 p.m.