Mustangs unable to overcome first-half deficit

HASTINGS, NEB. – A 41-28 first-half advantage proved too much for Morningside to overcome in the well-attended Great Plains Athletic Conference men's basketball championship game, played in the Hastings Broncos' Lynn Farrell Arena. The Mustangs fought to minimize the damage, closing an almost 20-point gap in the second half, but were unable to gain the upper hand as they fell 77-61.

The Mustangs shot 45.7 percent in the contest including 30 percent from beyond the three-point arc, but that was no match for a red-hot Hastings team that shot 55.1 percent from the floor and 48 percent from three-point land.

Ely Doble led Morningside in scoring, checking in for 22 points in the contest while pulling down five rebounds and only getting whistled for two fouls. Aidan Vanderloo followed with a dozen points and three rebounds, while Jack Dotzler had nine points and three boards. Brendan Buckley was Morningside's leading rebounder, collecting six caroms.

Daniel Brocaile was one of three players to come off the bench, scoring eight points of the team's nine bench points, and collecting three rebounds.

The Mustangs will head into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Men's Basketball National Championship field, presented by Ballogy, with brackets being announced by the NAIA on March 7 at 6 p.m. on YouTube.