The #24 Briar Cliff men's basketball team built up a 17-point lead by the halftime buzzer Tuesday night on their way to a 78-66 win over Mount Mercy. The Chargers move to 3-1 on the season and have won back-to-back games in the Newman Flanagan Center.
 
"I really liked the intensity and focus that we started the game with tonight," said head coach Mark Svagera. "We got multiple defensive stops and were able to set the tone for the game. We had some really good stretches offensively particularly in the late first half and early second. We have a few things to clean up moving forward, but we're looking forward to starting GPAC play Saturday."
 
The Chargers scored the first eight points of the contest, starting with 3-pointers from Jaden Kleinhesselink and Conner Groves. BC grabbed their first double-digit lead after a bucket from Matthew Stilwill with 11:54 left in the first.
 
The Mustangs cut the lead to seven with just over five minutes to play, but the Cliff closed out the half with a 12-3 run, capped off by a Kleinhesselink trey.
 
Briar Cliff was in cruise control in the second half, holding a double-digit lead throughout. Seven Chargers scored in the second half, led by Kleinhesselink and Vesey's 10 and eight points, respectively.
 
Kleinhesselink paced the Cliff with 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting to go with three boards and three assists. Kyle Boerhave added 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and had six rebounds and four assists.
 
Vesey and Groves added 13 points apiece and had five 3-pointers combined.
 
The Chargers had an edge in points off turnovers 22-13, bench points 14-11 and points in the paint 22-20.
 
Briar Cliff begins GPAC play Saturday on Ray Nacke Court against RV Concordia at 3:45 p.m.