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Dordt College Men's Basketball vs. Morningside

January 5, 2011

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(Sioux Center, Iowa) With back to back 3 pointers from Cliff Warner and Austin Katje, the Dordt Defenders turned a 1 point lead into a 68-61 margin with 1:23 to go and held the visiting Mustangs scoreless over the final 4 minutes and 10 seconds to take a 74-61 GPAC win.

Dordt had an early lead but Morningside showed that it wouldn't be an easy game all night with a run to take an 11-10 lead on a pair of Garth Hamilton free throws. Dordt pushed out in front 17-11 with 7:52 left in the half on a three-pointer by Cliff Warner and a Kyle Lindbergh shot in the lane. Over the next 4:33 Morningside outscored Dordt 20-5 and built the lead 31-22. The Defenders managed to get back in striking distance with a 7-1 run to close to within 32-29 with 00:41 on a Trevor Wolterstorff basket.

The battle for momentum continued in the second half with Morningside holding the lead until Shawn Keizer made a basket in the lane with 14:54 left in the contest. The Defenders managed to make it a five point game with 12:05 left on a Kyle Linbergh shot but the Mustangs answered with six straight for a 52-51 lead on a Storm Throne basket at the 10:02 mark. A Wolterstorff basket put the Defenders back on top and but Cory Gaston converted a three-point play at the 8:21 mark for a 55-53 lead.

Again it was Wolterstorff converting to tie the contest at 55-55 and he tied it again at the 7:00 mark with a basket to make it 57-57. Warner knocked down a long two for a Dordt lead but a technical foul on Dordt after a hard foul by Morningside kept it at a two point difference with 4:30 left. Morningside converted on the ensuing possession with Trent Miller tying it at the 4:10 mark at 61-61. The basket was the last points scored for Morningside.

Austin Katje made one free throw at the 3:17 mark and after a missed shot by Morningside Katje took a three that was halfway down and popped out. Morningside missed the front end of the one and one with 2:13 left and Warner popped a three that made it 65-61. A Wolterstorff steal resulted in a free possession for the Defenders and Austin Katje wouldn't miss again, hitting a three from the left corner that gave Dordt a 68-61 lead and the Defenders closed with four free throws--two each by Katje and Warner and a dunk by Van Staalduinen for the 13-0 run to close the game.

Dordt was paced by Wolterstoff with 18 points, four assists, two steals and seven rebounds. Warner had 12 points and four assists with four steals while Van Staalduinen had 11 points and three steals. Austin Katje completed the double digit scoring with 10 points and Lindbergh had eight points and three steals.

Garth Hamilton led Morningside with 16 points and six rebounds and Tyler Johnson had 13 points and four assists.

"That was a nice game for us and we are on the right path to be a good basketball team. Both teams played very physical basketball in the interior. We did a nice job tonight taking care of the basketball with just the 12 turnovers, and that is a far cry better than where we were earlier this season," said Dordt coach Ross Douma. "In the first half we allowed them to get to the free throw line too often and we made a major improvement in that area in the second half. We really dominated the boards in the second half and got good production from our bench tonight. Wolterstorff just willed himself to score as some key junctures and continues to be a leader on the floor and to get a couple 3 point baskets from a post player (VanStaalduinen) is great."

The Defenders improve to 8-7 overall and pick up their first conference win (1-4) while the Mustangs drop to 7-11 overall and 3-4 in the GPAC.

Other GPAC scores from tonight:
Nebraska Wesleyan at 59
Midland 61

Mount Marty at 75
Sioux Falls 88

Dakota Wesleyan at 67
Northwestern 76

Doane at 78
Hastings 71

Standings: Team/GPAC/Overall:
Northwestern/6-1/13-4
Briar Cliff/5-1/15-2
Concordia/4-2/10-4
Sioux Falls/4-2/11-5
Doane/4-2/10-5
Mount Marty/3-3/5-10
Dakota Wesleyan/3-4/13-5
Morningside/3-4/7-11
Hastings/2-5/6-11
Dordt/1-4/8-7
Nebraska Wesleyan/1-4/5-7
Midland/1-5/5-13

The Defender men will travel to Seward, Nebraska on Saturday, January 8 to take on the Concordia Bulldogs at 7:00 pm.

Dordt's Current Record: 8-7 (1-4)
Opponent's Current Record: 7-11 (3-4)

Team 1st Half 2nd Half Final
Dordt College 29 45 74
Morningside 32 29 61
Dordt Rebounding Leaders Total
Trevor Wolterstorff 7
Jordan Vogel 7
Kyle Lindbergh 3
Chris Van Roekel 3
Team Total: 34
Opponent Rebounding Leaders Total
Hamilton, Garth 6
Throne, Storm 5
Borchers, Bryan 4
Miller, Trent 3
Team Total: 27
Dordt Scoring Leaders Total
Trevor Wolterstorff 18
Cliff Warner 12
Bradley Van Staalduinen 11
Austin Katje 10
Team Total: 74
Opponent Scoring Leaders Total
Hamilton, Garth 16
Johnson, Tyler 12
Zoz, Kevin 11
Miller, Trent 8
Team Total: 61
Dordt Team Shooting Pct
Field Goals: 27/56 48%
3-Point Field Goals: 6/16 38%
Free Throws: 14/21 67%
Opponent Team Shooting Pct
Field Goals: 20/42 48%
3-Point Field Goals: 3/12 25%
Free Throws: 18/27 67%

For more information, please contact Mike Byker, Sports Information Director, at mbyker@dordt.edu or (712) 722-6301.