Pottebaum piles up points, leads Morningside past Midland

By Daniel Ver Steeg
Morningside College sports information student staff

SIOUX CITY, IOWA - Morningside College was happy to be back on their home court Saturday, Jan. 23.

No one may have been more so than sophomore guard Will Pottebaum (SO/LeMars, IA) (LeMars, Iowa), though.

Pottebaum finished the game with a new career-high of 32 points on 10-13 from the field, and eight for nine from three-point range, leading head coach Jim Sykes' squad to its seventh straight victory in a 98-72 triumph over Midland University in Great Plains Athletic Conference action. The sophomore's story didn't end there, either.

He became the fifth player in program history to make eight or more three-pointers in a single game. Pottebaum's three-point field goal percentage was 88.9%, which is second-best in players' program history with at least six made three-point field goals in a game.

Right out of the gate, the Maroon, improving to 17-2 overall and 13-2 in the league, wowed the crowd with some miraculous three-point shooting. The Mustangs opened up the game shooting seven for its first nine treys to jump out to a 30-15 lead through the first nine minutes. Pottebaum was the main conduit of the hot shooting as he converted all of his first six three-point attempts. When the first 20 minutes finished, the home team was eight for 12 from beyond the arc and scored 49 points. Pottebaum bested his career-high in the first half with 22 points in the first half alone.

The second half proved to be more of the same. Mside continued their torrid shooting from distance as they hit seven for 10 in the second half and 18 for 27 from the field in total. They were able to wear down the Warriors, outscoring them 49-33 to wrap up the "W."

Junior forward Collin Hill (JR/Jewell, IA) (Jewell, Iowa) finished in double-figures with 12 points and nine rebounds, while senior forward Trey Brown (SR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) finished with 11 points on five for nine from the field. Freshman guard Aidan Vanderloo (FR/Sioux City, IA) (Sioux City, Iowa) also found himself in double-figure territory with 11 points on four for seven from the field and three for four from three-point range. Looking deeper into the Mustangs' numbers, senior guard Zach Imig (SR/Gretna, NE ) (Gretna, Neb.) set a new career-high with 11 assists and became the fourth player in program history with 11 or more assists in a game.

Sykes' squad shot 15 for 22 from three-point range for a clip of 68.2% as a team. That percentage is the second-best in a game in program history.

The Maroon hopes to continue its hot shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 27, when they host the Jimmies of the University of Jamestown. Tip-off time is 8 p.m. in the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center's Allee Gymnasium.