Morningside's season comes to a close in quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A historic run comes to a close for the Morningside Men's Basketball program, falling short of the semifinals with a 73-56 loss in the quarterfinals to No. 1 College of Idaho Saturday night inside Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. 

The first half was a battle of runs. The Mustangs took the early lead, but College of Idaho wasn't going to let the Mustangs run away with it as they quickly opened a 10-point, 21-11 lead with nine minutes until halftime. The Mustangs responded with a 16-6 run to tie the game at 27. A three-pointer from College of Idaho gave the Yotes a 30-27 lead at the intermission.

The Yotes carried momentum into the second half, reopening a double digit lead. The Mustangs battled back as Daniel Brocaille buried back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to four, 54-50, with 7:37 to play. College of Idaho, the defending national champions, took control from there. The Yotes went on an 11-0 run to hold a 15-point lead with 3:50 to play and seal the win.

Ely Doble tied the single season scoring record of 697 points with a pair of free throws late in the game. Doble finished the game with eight points to cap off a terrific senior season. Joey Skoff poured in 16 points and dished out four assists in the game. He finished fourth in single season scoring with 695 points this season. Daniel Brocaille set a new career high with 16 points in Municipal Auditorium Saturday night. 

The senior class has left its impact on the program, including a 24-10 record this season and being one of the final five teams playing. Jack Dotzler, Aidan Vanderloo, Ely Doble, and Joey Skoff made back-to-back trips to Kansas City and three trips in four years. The Mustangs reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2019 this season and the four seniors have their imprints all over the program record book.