The Dordt University men's basketball team held off a second half rally by William Woods to defeat the host Owls 79-75 in a match-up of unbeaten teams played tonight at the Anderson Arena in Fulton, Missouri.
The Defenders improve to 6-0 this season; William Woods drops to 5-1.
Bryce Coppock led the Defenders with 22 points, 15 in the first half, and converted on three of four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Lucas Lorenzen added 14 points and
Connor Millikan contributed 12 points, four rebounds and two steals.
How It Happened:
- the teams traded the lead three times over the first seven-plus minutes
- down 13-10, Dordt began the first substantial run of the game as they outscored the Owls 14-3 to take a 24-16 lead after a basket by Ben Fairclough at the 9-minute mark
- William Woods scored the next eight points and tied the game at 24 following a lay-up from Kevin Taylor
- the Defenders answered by scoring the next points, capped by a three-pointer by Lucas Lorenzen, and outscored the hosts 17-5 over the final seven minutes to take a 41-29 halftime lead
- an early second-half basket by Fairclough gave Dordt its largest lead (47-33)
- William Woods began to rally and trimmed the Defenders lead down to three (56-53) at the 10-minute mark following a 12-5 run
- Connor Millikan knocked down a three-point, pushing the lead back to six, and the teams traded baskets over the next 4-5 minutes
- the Owls made it a one-possession game four times over the final minutes but Dordt had an answer each time, getting a key three-pointer by Fairclough and clutch free throws from Coppock
By the Numbers:
- Dordt shot 51% for the game, 43% (9/21) from beyond the arc
- William Woods shot 44% for the game, 51% in the second half, but struggled from the 3-point arc (7/30 - 23%)
- three Dordt players scored in double figures (Coppock, Lorenzen, Millikan) and two others (Rankin, Fairclough) netted nine points each
- Dordt was outrebounded 46-27 but committed only four turnovers and forced the Owls into 12 miscues
- Rankin dished out a game-high nine assists
- Nate Schwartze led all scorers with 26 points and Kevin Taylor contributed 17
Defender Notes:
- Lorenzen has scored in double figures in all six games this season
- Coppock, who scored his 2,000th career point last time out vs Dakota State, scored in double figures for the fifth time this season
- Millikan matched his season-high in points
- Rankin finished one assist shy of his third game with at least 10 assists
- Dordt's four turnovers was a season-low
- Dordt has shot better than 50% in all five games
- the Defenders have shot better than their opponent in every game this season
- Dordt's 6-0 start is the best start since the 2012-13 season where they also started 6-0
- the Defenders started the 2011-12 season at 15-0
