Mustangs erase double-digit deficit in win over Briar Cliff

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Morningside men's basketball senior Joey Skoff looked up at the scoreboard and saw his team was down 11 points in the second half.

He didn't bat an eye or allow the panic to rush. He knew that anything could happen in a rivalry game against Briar Cliff.

The RV Mustangs erased that double-digit deficit on Saturday to defeat the Chargers 88-81 at Allee Gymnasium on Senior Day.

"I think it's a pretty good illustration of what these seniors mean to us," said head coach Trent Miller. "They've been through a lot, and they've played a lot of games and situations together."

Morningside trailed 58-47 with 16 minutes, 29 seconds left, its largest deficit of the afternoon. The Mustangs chipped away, and brought that deficit to two points in a four-minute span.

BCU went on another brief run to make more distance, but Joey Skoff gave his team the lead with 2:22 remaining. Skoff said that he got open after the Chargers saw Daniel Brocaille was open in the post.

The Charger defender who guarded Skoff went to help on Brocaille. Brocaille reacted to it, kicked the ball out to the program's all-time leading scorer, and hit the corner 3-pointer in front of the Mustangs' bench.

"It's a great play by Dan to draw and kick it, and that's a shot we work on every day in practice, so it just came natural," Skoff said.

Skoff — who led with a team-high 31 points — added four insurance tallies at the end.

Justin Sitti added the exclamation point with a drink with 6 seconds left that gave the Mustangs their eight-point victory.

Brocaille was one rebound shy of a double-double, with 15 points and nine rebounds. Brendan Buckley had 14 points and five assists.

Just like the women's team did on Saturday, the men's program honored its seniors. Those who were recognized were Ethan Alfers, Brendan Buckley, Charlie Fletcher, Tyson Gordon, Dylan Johnson, Sitti, Skoff, Aidan Vanderloo and Aiden Westra.

This group has been a part of 104 wins over the previous five seasons. Entering Saturday, they've collectively scored 5,417 points, 933 assists, 1,846 rebounds, and 446 steals.

"It's a special group, and what I really love about them is they picked up where the older guys left off," Miller said.

The Mustangs turn their focus to the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament, which begins Wednesday. They'll host Dakota Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Allee Gym.