Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Both MNU Basketball teams used strong second halves to defeat Ottawa on Tuesday.
Stats | In the women's game, Ottawa came out strong and controlled the action in the first half. MNU struggled to get into a rhythm and Ottawa maintained a 4 to 6 point lead most of the half. A last-second breakaway layup from
Rachel Boan following a
Kelsey Balcom field goal - both assisted by
Megan Balcom - closed the gap to 1 as the first-half horn sounded.
Ottawa again controlled the early part of the second half and built a 6-point lead with 13 minutes to play. But Kelsey and
Megan Balcom took over the game from there. Megan scored the next 8 MNU points and Kelsey scored the next 4 with assists from her sister as the Pioneers tied the game. After a few baskets by each team, the Balcoms went on another run. Kelsey hit a 3, Megan hit a 3 (assisted by Kelsey), and Kelsey finished the run with a breakaway layup (assisted by Megan) to extend the Pioneer lead to 7. After an Ottawa time out, the Pioneers kept the pressure on and scored the next 6 points to complete a 14-0 run. Ottawa responded by scoring the next 9 points, but time ran out on the Braves and MNU won 78-72.
Kelsey Balcom led the offense with 21 points. She also had 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Megan Balcom went 4-6 from beyond the arc and ended with 14 points and 9 assists.
Daria Sprew had 8 points and 9 rebounds. And
Kiley Herold had 8 points and 8 rebounds.
The Pioneers are 3-0. The next game is Tuesday the 16th at John Brown University (1-1) at 6:00.
Stats | In the men's game, the teams traded big runs in the first half. Ottawa came out quickly and built a 6-point lead at the 13-minute mark. The Pioneers went on a 19-5 run to take an 8-point lead, but Ottawa with a 12-0 run to retake the lead. The Braves extended the lead to 9 with 90 seconds left in the half, but
Rustin Dowd scored 5 quick points and
Luke Thomas scored a put-back layup in the final seconds to trim the deficit to 2.
The second half was all Pioneers. MNU outscored Ottawa by 13 points in the first 10 minutes to build a double-digit lead. Ottawa could not claw back into the game and the Pioneers led by as many as 15 before cruising to a 90-80 victory.
Rustin Dowd led the offense with 20 points on 9-13 shooting. He also contributed 3 assists and 3 steals.
Luke Thomas recorded his second double-double on the young season with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Conner Langrehr reached double figures with 14 points.
Jacob French had 11 points and 6 rebounds. And
Nick Syrie had 8 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists.
The Pioneers are 3-0. The next games are at 8:00 on Thursday and Friday vs. Central Bible and Grand View for the
Jeff Uphaus Memorial Classic.
