The #24 Briar Cliff men's basketball team bounced back in their home opener with an 85-77 win over #7 William Penn Friday night. The Chargers shot 50.9% from the field and had five players score over 10 points.
 
"Really proud of our team tonight. Bouncing back after a loss takes toughness, and I thought we were really focused all week in practice," said head coach Mark Svagera. "We had to weather some storms tonight, but I loved how the guys stuck together and found a way to get it done! This was a team win that we can build off of as we move forward."
 
The score was closely contested through the first 10 minutes of the game, until three 3-straight 3-pointers from the Chargers extended their lead to 11 points. At the 6:35 mark, Nick Hoyt and Conner Groves combined for 19 of the Chargers final 21 points as BC held a 43-31 lead. Hoyt knocked down back-to-back treys to end the half as he had a team high 13 points.
 
Briar Cliff was red-hot from deep in the opening half, connecting on 7-of-10 attempts from deep and had a 59.3 shooting percentage. The Cliff tallied 10 assists and came away with four steals.
 
The Chargers held the lead for the entirety of the second half, leading by as many as 15 early after a Hoyt trey. However, the Statesmen would battle back, cutting the lead to two with 7:47 remaining.
 
BC brought the lead back up to 11 points with a 12-3 run, capped off by a Matthew Stilwill jumper with 4:50 remaining. The Chargers matched William Penn score with one of their one and went 7-for-9 from the free throw line in the final two minutes of play.
 
Hoyt had a game high 23 points on an efficient 7-for-9 shooting and went 5-for-7 from deep. Jaden Kleinhesselink scored 18 points with five rebounds and two assists.
 
Quinn Vesey and Stilwill had 13 points apiece, while Conner Groves had 10 points.
 
The Chargers held William Penn's offense that averaged 98.5 points per game to 77 points in the NFC.
 
Briar Cliff is back on Ray Nacke Court next Tuesday for a nonconference matchup with Mount Mercy at 7:00 p.m.