Vanderloo's 31 points propels Mustangs to GPAC semifinals

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Aidan Vanderloo has played in some key games as a member of the Morningside men's basketball team. He perhaps played his best on Wednesday.

The senior from Sioux City East scored a career-high 31 points in the Mustangs' 91-74 win over Dakota Wesleyan in the Great Plains Athletic Conference quarterfinals. He surpassed his previous high of 24, which came in the NAIA Round of 16 on March 19, 2021.

Vanderloo made each of his first nine shots, including reeling off four straight 3s in the first half. His final make in the first half put the Mustangs up 13 with 2 minutes, 2 seconds before halftime. The Mustangs' largest lead was 23, with 10:44 remaining in the game.

"The first one went in, and then the rest of them went in," Vanderloo said. "Credit to my teammates. I can't do things like that without my teammates finding me and making great plays."

Vanderloo wound up making 12 shots, seven of which came from 3-point range. His seven made 3s are the most for him in a game this season.

"He does that in practice, so it's nice to see him step up. He took good shots, and he buried them," said head coach Trent Miller. "I love his confidence. He's pretty hard to guard when he's shooting those."

The Mustangs had 18 assists, led by Joey Skoff with five. All five starting players had at least one assist.

"We had a great game plan going into this game, and we found open guys," Vanderloo said. "It wasn't just me getting lucky tonight. Tonight was one of those nights where we were at the top of the roller coaster."

Overall, the Mustangs shot a season-high 66 percent from the floor, going 37-for-56. It's the fifth time the Mustangs have shot over 60 percent in a game.

Daniel Brocaille scored 17 points, had five rebounds, an assist and a steal. Justin Sitti scored most of his 15 points in the paint, while Brendan Buckley put up 11 points.

Caleb Dreckman led the reserves with eight points.

"Our goal is to play our best basketball come March, and right now, that's a great step in the right direction," Miller said.

Defensively, the Mustangs limited the Tigers to a 40-percent game, and 28 points in the paint. The game plan, according to Miller, was to keep DWU out of the lane.

"They're very good at getting to the rim, and the emphasis tonight was forcing them to take perimeter shots," Miller said. "I thought we did that for 40 minutes, and they didn't shoot as well from the perimeter."

The Mustangs advance to the GPAC semifinals, where they'll meet up with top-seeded Dordt at 4 p.m. Saturday in Sioux Center.

The Defenders defeated Mount Marty on Wednesday to force a Game 3 between the two northwest Iowa schools.

On Jan. 29, Morningside defeated then No. 8 Dordt by 14 at home, but the Defenders responded with a five-point victory just last week in Sioux Center.

"Time is ticking for us seniors, and every win is a big one," Vanderloo said.