Men defeat NWU

Andy Dygert
Visual Editor
Dec. 2, 2004, Page 7

The Doane Tigers men’s basketball team pulled off a second half surge with the help of the loud and exuberant Orange Crush fans to defeat Nebraska Wesleyan and remain undefeated in conference play.
The win was only capitalized by the fact that the Tigers defeated rivals Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves 76-73 in a close finish.
“It was the first time that we’ve beat them [Wesleyan] at home since I’ve been here,” junior Luke Beerbohm said. “It was really exciting. Coach Brown was excited.”
The first half of the game went Nebraska Wesleyan’s way, where their 56.7 percent shooting from the field led them to a 43-35 halftime lead. The Prairie Wolves hit five out of eight three-point baskets in the first half and nine out of 18 from three-point land for the game.
The Tigers started taking the lead at around the nine minute mark of the second half and with the Doane fans roaring appreciatively they never looked back.
“It was good to see all the fans there supporting us,” Beerbohm said. “I know that a lot of them were there for the free pizza, but most of them stayed. It was nice to have our crowd there.”
Near the end of the game key free throw shooting by junior Matt Vecchio and sophomore Michael Stoynev stave off an incredible three-point shot display by Nebraska Wesleyan. The Prairie Wolves hit four three-point baskets in the final 1:36 to nearly knock off the Tigers.
Doane’s next game is at 4 p.m. Saturday in Fuhrer Field House where the 6-2 Tigers will take on Dakota Wesleyan.
“We’ve started out undefeated in the conference,” Beerbohm said. “So obviously we want to keep that going. We have a lot of tough games over the break, so we have to work really hard.”