Warriors Battle to the Wire; Fall to Hastings on Senior Night

FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University hosted Hastings College for a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) matchup on Wednesday night, honoring its five seniors before tipoff. In a hard-fought battle, the Warriors suffered a heartbreaking 69-68 loss in their final regular-season game against the Broncos.

Hastings opened the game at the free-throw line to score first. Trey McCain responded with a layup, but after a quick 4-0 run by the Broncos, Midland called an early timeout. Out of the break, Hastings extended its lead to 10-2 with another 4-0 run. Jeff Rozelle III ended the Warriors' scoring drought with a jumper, sparking an 8-2 run that cut the deficit to two. Hastings answered with a 3-0 run before Jake Orr led a 7-0 surge, giving Midland a 17-15 lead and forcing a Broncos timeout.

Momentum stayed with the Warriors as Butch Lordeus drained a three-pointer, igniting an 8-2 run. Hastings responded with free throws, but Ryan Larsen hit a jumper, and Rece Kissinger added points at the free-throw line following a technical foul on the Hastings bench. The Broncos then went on a 5-0 run before calling a timeout with two minutes left in the first half. In the final moments, both teams traded baskets, with Hastings taking the last shot before halftime. Midland held a narrow 34-33 lead at the break.

Hastings opened the second half with a jumper, but Larsen answered by leading a 9-2 Midland run, prompting another Broncos timeout. After the break, the teams exchanged baskets until Hastings went on a 7-0 run, cutting Midland's lead to just one. Jack Cooper ended the Warriors' scoring drought at the free-throw line, but Hastings kept the pressure on with a 4-0 run, reclaiming a 52-51 lead. Orr responded with a layup, setting up a back-and-forth battle.

A second technical foul on Hastings allowed Lordeus to sink two free throws, followed by Orr adding two more, pushing Midland ahead 59-54. The teams continued trading baskets until Hastings took a timeout. Nick Dolezal energized the Warriors with a dunk, fueling a 4-0 run. However, the Broncos countered with a 9-0 run to take a 69-66 lead. Rozelle III made a crucial layup, cutting the deficit to one with a minute remaining. Despite a last-second shot attempt, Midland fell just short, suffering a tough 69-68 loss on Senior Night.

"I told our guys in the locker room that I loved our fight, I loved our competitiveness, and we did some really good things," said Midland head coach Tyler Erwin. "We just couldn't shoot the ball tonight. We didn't shoot the ball well from three or make our free throws. Give Hastings some credit—they did some really good things and put us in tough scenarios. But if we make one or two more threes and hit a few more free throws, the game is probably ours. It's just extremely frustrating because we didn't capitalize on those free throws, but I am happy with our effort tonight."

Orr led the Warriors with 15 points, followed by Dolezal with 13 and Lordeus with 10.

Midland shot 26-of-52 (50%), while Hastings finished 27-of-55 (49.1%). The Broncos shot 9-of-14 (64.3%) from the free-throw line, while the Warriors went 14-of-29 (48.3%).

Before the game, Midland recognized its five seniors: Ryan Larsen, Rece Kissinger, Jack Cooper, Noah Sandbothe, and Colton Uhing.

"All five seniors have been tremendous in practice, in the community, and for the university. I just can't say enough," Erwin said. "We wanted it so badly for them, to send them out in a great way, but it just didn't go our way. Ryan has done so much for our program—tremendous. Rece has been around for five years and already has a degree; he has been tremendous as well. Jack has been a Warrior, a true leader and team guy. Noah has been the most positive guy in the program's future.

"And last, Colton. Everyone knows how huge he has been for our program over the past four years. Literally, in the first week of practice, he shattered his patella and broke his tibia in a compound fracture. His season was over in September, yet he has been nothing but a Warrior. He worked hard in physical therapy just to be on the court tonight, in his jersey, without crutches. He's just a special individual. I can't say enough about our seniors—they are tremendous, and they are Warriors."

Midland (12-16, 7-13 GPAC) will await its official seeding for the GPAC Tournament, which will be announced on Saturday, Feb. 22.