Warriors Make Adjustments, Rally to Defeat Doane on Road

CRETE, Neb. – Midland University traveled to Crete, Nebraska, on Wednesday night for a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) matchup against Doane University. After trailing by as many as ten points in the opening half, the Warriors mounted a second-half comeback to secure a 68-58 victory over the Tigers.

Doane opened the game with a 4-0 run, prompting Midland to call an early timeout. Ryan Larsen put the Warriors on the board with a jumper, but the Tigers responded with a 9-0 run, including three consecutive three-pointers. Larsen ended Midland's scoring drought with another jumper, but Doane quickly answered.

Jake Orr connected from beyond the arc, sparking a 9-2 run that gave Midland a 16-14 lead. However, Doane countered with an 11-2 run to reclaim the lead at 25-18. Jeff Rozelle III ended another scoring slump for the Warriors with a basket, and both teams began trading shots. The Tigers extended their advantage to 10 points with back-to-back three-pointers, but Midland fought back in the final five minutes of the half. Nick Dolezal ignited an 8-2 run, closing the gap to 37-33 at halftime.

After the break, both teams went scoreless for the first few minutes until Rece Kissinger put Midland on the board with a free throw, followed by a layup from Jack Cooper. The teams continued to exchange baskets, leading Midland to call a timeout. The back-and-forth battle persisted until Trey McCain drained a three-pointer, sparking an 11-2 run and forcing a Doane timeout.

Following the break, the Tigers responded with a 4-0 run, but Rozelle answered with an 8-3 stretch, scoring five points himself. Midland then called another timeout. After the pause, Orr added four quick points, and both teams capitalized at the free-throw line. In the final minutes, the Warriors pulled away to secure the double-digit victory.

"A really tough road win tonight. I am proud of our resilience," said head coach Tyler Erwin. "Defensively, we did a good job of holding Doane to only 21 points in the second half, and in the last five minutes and 30 seconds, they only scored one point. Credit to Coach Cam [Schuknecht] and our defensive adjustments. We got stops when we needed to. Doane does a good job of controlling the pace and tempo with their zone, making the game ugly. Jack [Cooper] was really good off the bench with a few baskets and was big defensively. We had multiple guys make threes tonight against their zone and shot the ball well as a team. Once again, I am proud of our guys and our second-half toughness."

Midland shot 55.1% from the field (27-of-49), while Doane finished at 37.7% (23-of-61). The Warriors were efficient from three-point range, shooting 57.1%, compared to the Tigers' 30%.

Orr and Rozelle led Midland with 13 points each, while Larsen added 10.

Midland (11-14, 6-11 GPAC) will return home to host Waldorf University (3-21, 2-15 GPAC) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3:45 p.m. inside the Wikert Event Center.