Briar Cliff University

A balanced scoring attack for the Briar Cliff men's basketball team lifted the Chargers to an 88-83 win over Midland Saturday in Fremont, Nebraska. Six Chargers put up double-digit point totals, led by Ethan Freidel's 16 points and Quinten Vasa's double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds).
 
Quinn Vesey and Andrew Gibb each had 14 points. Gibb scored 12 of his 14 in the first half of action while Vesey scored 12 of his 14 in the second half. Nick Hoyt and Jaden Kleinhesselink each chipped in 12 for the Cliff. All 12 of Hoyt's points came from beyond the arc as the sophomore went 4-for-10 from three. 
 
"We had some really good stretches today, both offensively and defensively," said head coach Mark Svagera. " I'm proud of the way the guys were able to finish it off down the stretch. I thought our bench was huge tonight, both in production on the floor but also in their energy and enthusiasm in a situation where we couldn't have our own fans in attendance."
 
Up 73-63 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the contest, BC allowed a 9-0 Warrior run and forced the Chargers to call a timeout with 8:17 to play. Out of the timeout, the game saw six lead changes with neither side leading by more than three until Kleinhesselink dropped in a layup to seal the 88-83 win with 12 seconds remaining. Freidel also hit a pair of free throws in the final minute to help the Chargers get the road win. 
 
Briar Cliff shot nearly 61 percent from the field on the afternoon and 52 percent from the 3-point line. The Chargers only made a few trips to the free throw line, going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. 
 
Kleinhesselink gave out four assists in the game and Vesey had three of the team's six steals. 
 
Jake Rueschhoff dropped in 22 points for Midland and Laurence Merritt added 19. Bo Sandquist corralled seven boards. As a team, Midland his 52 percent of its attempts from the field and was 36 percent from beyond the arc. The Warriors also stayed off the free throw line, sinking two of four attempts. 
 
In total, the Chargers outscored the Warriors 30-15 from the bench, but Midland had a 23-13 advantage in points off turnovers and 9-4 edge in second-chance points. 
 
The Cliff moves to 5-6 on the season and 3-4 in GPAC play. BC will head to Jamestown Tuesday afternoon for a 4 p.m. contest against the Jimmies.