The No.6 Dordt University men's basketball team lost to #23 Oklahoma Wesleyan 75-73 in the second round of the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship, Sioux Center Bracket played this afternoon in the De Witt Gym.
The Defenders end the season with a 28-4 record; Oklahoma Wesleyan advances to the round of 16 and the final site, Kansas City, Mo. with a 25-7 record.
Lucas Lorenzen netted a game-high 29 points, one shy of his season-high, and
Ty Van Essen scored a season-high 14 points, 10 in the second half as he helped bring the Defenders back after being down double-digits early in the final frame.
The game featured nine ties and 12 lead changes and was a post-season classic from the opening tip that featured great plays and big shots hit by both teams.
Oklahoma Wesleyan led by two (39-37) at intermission and used a 13-4 early second half run to take the largest lead of the game (57-45) with 14:12 left in the game.
Back came the Defenders, however, as a
Ben Fairclough three-pointer from the top of the key spearheaded a 16-2 run that electrified the home crowd and gave the hosts a 61-59 advantage after a lay-up by Lorenzen with 8:10 left to go. Dordt made four three-pointers during the run, two by Van Essen and one each by Fairclough and sophomore guard
Jake Proctor.
The teams traded the lead back-and-forth five times over the next five-plus minutes with Dordt's last lead coming with 4:20 left to go (67-66) on a lay-up by
Jake Hargens off a dish by
Luke Rankin. A three-pointer by Eagles guard Ethan Williams propelled the visitors back in front (69-67) only to have the Defenders tie the game for one final time (69-69) at the three-minute mark on a tip-in by Lorenzen.
Oklahoma Wesleyan scored on back-to-back possessions off a jumper by Nick Bene and a tough, converted lay-up by Derrick Talton Jr. for a four-point lead. A pair of free throws by Van Essen brought Dordt back to within two (73-71) at the 1:48 mark and both teams came up empty on their next offensive possession. Following a miss by the Defenders, Talton Jr. scored on a contested jumper, putting Oklahoma Wesleyan up by four (75-71) with 40 seconds left.
A quick bucket by Lorenzen made it a one possession game again and after a couple of Defender fouls, Oklahoma Wesleyan guard Dylan Phillip missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving the ball back to Dordt with 14 seconds left. The Defenders last second three-pointer fell short, however, and the Eagles secured a spot in the round of 16.
The Eagles were led by Talton Jr. for the second consecutive night, scoring 24 points to go with five rebounds and six assists. The senior guard netted a combined 54 points in the two games. Nick Bene contributed 19 points and was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc. Bene pulled down 10 boards to record the double-double while his teammate, Jaden Lietzke, collected 12 rebounds.
Bryce Coppock scored nine points in his final game in a Defenders uniform while
Luke Rankin collected five rebounds to go with five assists.
Dordt held its largest lead of the game (13-8) right after the first media timeout in the opening half and matched its five point lead moments later on a basket by Lorenzen. Oklahoma Wesleyan charged back with the next eight points on back-to-back three-pointers by Dylan Phillip before a
Jake Hargens basket tied the score at 20 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
By the Numbers:
- Dordt shot 43% for the game, 40% (10/25) from beyond the arc
- the Defenders had the advantage at the foul ine, making 13-of-18 attempts while Oklahoma Wesleyan made just 2-of-6
- Oklahoma Wesleyan shot 51% from the field and a season-best 61% from the 3-point line
- the Eagles made 11 three-pointers, tied for the second most this season
- Dordt was outrebounded by a slight 37-33 margin
- both teams committed 10 turnovers
Defender Notes:
- the 28 wins is tied for the second most all-time in program history
- 2011-12: 30-5
- 2012-13: 28-7, 2013-14: 28-6
- Dordt is 0-2 in the second round
- lost to Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in 2023
- this marks the final game for the seven seniors on this year's roster; Tyson Boer, Bryce Coppock, Ben Fairclough, Ben Loverude, Tyler Prins, Luke Rankin and Xavier Van Beek
- this group of seniors posted a 93-33 record and qualified for the NAIA Championship all four years
- 2024-25: 28-4
- 2023-24: 19-11
- 2022-23: 26-7
- 2021-22: 20-11
