The Briar Cliff men's basketball team knocked down 6-of-8 free throws in the final 1:14 as they held off Midland to earn a 75-70 win. Jaden Kleinhesselink and Nick Hoyt combined to make 10 3-pointers in the win.
 
"I was really proud of our guys today getting back in the win column after a couple tough losses," said head coach Mark Svagera. "We had a really big run in the first half that kind of propelled us and gave us a lot of confidence. We shot the ball well today; we hadn't done that the last couple games and at times we were really good defensively. We need to be a little more consistent on that end. Overall, we played pretty well and in this league, you have to grind out the tough wins and that's what we did today. Particularly we had some good contributions from the bench, but Nathan Hall gave us a big lift and I was really happy to see him come in and really contribute today."
 
Midland held the lead for the majority of the first 10 minutes, but the Chargers took control over the next five minutes. After scoring 17 points in the opening 10 minutes, Briar Cliff doubled their score with a 17-1 run over the next five minutes of play. Nick Hoyt and Nathan Hall combined for 11 of the Cliff's points over the run.
 
The Chargers dished out 12 assists in the first half on 15 field goals. Kleinhesselink and Hoyt each knocked down three 3-pointers as the Cliff went 8-for-17 from deep.
 
BC scored 14 points in the paint, made eight 3-pointers and 11 points off turnovers in the opening 20.
 
Conner Groves gave BC their largest lead of the second half, 51-44, with a triple. Midland cut the lead to one, 61-60, with 5:51 remaining, but eight straight Charger points pushed the advantage back to nine.
 
The Chargers held the lead throughout the full 20 minutes of the second half, and iced out the contest by going 6-for-8 in the final 1:14.
 
Kleinhesselink led the way with 21 points with six 3-pointers and went 3-for-5 from the free throw line. He tallied three rebounds and two assists. Hoyt was 4-for-8 from deep and scored 14 points.
 
Kyle Boerhave added nine points and eight rebounds, while Matthew Stilwill had 10 points and six boards.
 
BC knocked down double-digit (13) 3-pointers for the second straight game and fifth time this season. The Chargers forced 16 Warrior turnovers and scored 16 points off turnovers.
 
BC moves 6-5 (2-4 GPAC) on the season and will head to Hastings, Nebraska next Thursday to face Hastings.