Super Saturday triumph keeps Mside on cusp of league top five

SIOUX CITY, IOWA – As the calendar continues to advance towards the 2022 Great Plains Athletic Conference postseason championships, the final games of the regular season grow more and more in stature.

Faced with two such contests Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11 and 12, head coach Trent Miller's Mustangs picked up an essential split, stopping a three-game skid. Miller's crew had to pick itself up by its bootstraps after a white-knuckle Friday night ride against the University of Jamestown concluded with a 103-95 overtime loss at Allee Gymnasium of the Rosen-Verdoorn Sports Center. They did just that to the home crowd's delight Saturday afternoon, scoring 19 of the first 27 points against Hastings College as part of an 81-64 victory.

Senior guard Zach Imig found himself in the statistical spotlight over the weekend's course. He was just off the triple-double mark in both contests, especially Friday, producing 19 points, eight steals, nine rebounds, and five assists versus the Jimmies. He returned with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals against the Broncos Saturday. Sophomore guard Aidan Vanderloo (Sioux City, Iowa) posted 17 points against Jamestown, followed by sophomore guard Jack Dotzler (Omaha, Neb.) with 14. Dotzler, wrapping up a 24-point two-game effort, and sophomore forward/center Ely Doble (Gretna, Neb.) scored 10 points apiece. Junior forward Trey Powers (Omaha, Neb.) compiled 11 points, most of which occurred during the early-game run versus Hastings.

Morningside (13-10 overall, 10-8 GPAC) goes into the last week of the 2021-22 regular season just a game of a fifth-place tie between Dordt University and Northwestern College and only a game and a half behind third-place Jamestown. They face off against Dakota Wesleyan University Wednesday, Feb. 16, with a 7:45 p.m. tip-off at the Corn Palace in Mitchell, S.D.