The Dordt Defender men's basketball team battled back from a double-digit deficit in the first half to lead briefly late in the game before dropping a 93-90 decision to the Jamestown Jimmies on Saturday afternoon in Sioux Center, Iowa. The final outcome wasn't determined until a late three from in front of the Dordt bench was offline at the horn.

Jamestown bounced back from a poor shooting performance on Friday night to grab an early 22-10 lead.  Camden Bialas scored a bucket to start an 8-0 run that Jacob Vis capped with a basket in the paint. Dordt got as close as 29-28 with 8:54 left in the first half when Vis converted two more of his 24 first half points but the Defenders ended up trailing 52-47 at halftime.

A Will Cordes three-point shot early in the second half put the Jimmies back up by 10 and the Defenders were forced to come back again. Cade Bleeker capped a 7-0 run with a three to get Dordt within 59-56 but the hosts wouldn't get the lead until Luke Rankin converted a layup with 5:34 left in the game.  Rankin had another layup that put the Defenders up 82-80 and Dordt's last lead came on a basket by Jacob Vis in the paint for an 84-83 advantage.

The game was tied again at 85 and 87 but Dordt trailed 89-88 with :34 left after a 1-2 trip to the free throw line. Jamestown converted two free throws with :13 left for a three-point lead.  A quick two-point basket by Rankin made it 91-90 with eight seconds left but Jamestown made both free throws after a quick foul and Dordt's long shot at the horn was off line.

THE NUMBERS

• Dordt made 35-59 field goals and 5-11 three-point shots for 59 and 46 percent respectively.
• Jamestown was 31-61 from the field for 51 percent success and they made 16-36 three-point shots for 44 percent. The Jimmies were 12-21 in the first half from the arc.  Jamestown also made 15-17 free throws for 88 percent success.
• Dordt held a 33-26 rebounding edge and both teams had seven turnovers.
• Jacob Vis was 13-15 from the field for 35 points and had six rebounds and three blocked shots as he scored with 1,000^th career point in the second half.
• Bryce Coppock scored 16 with six rebounds.
• Luke Rankin added 12 and had four rebounds with Jackson Louscher coming off the bench for eight points, three rebounds and three assists.
• Will Cordes scored 35 points and made his first seven three-point attempts.
• Dordt is 14-3 overall and 6-3 in the GPAC.
• Jamestown is 13-3 overall and 5-3 in the GPAC.

NEXT

Dordt will travel to Doane on Wednesday night, January 11 before returning home to play Briar Cliff on Saturday, January 14.
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