The Briar Cliff men's basketball team fell in the Newman Flanagan Center to the GPAC leading Mustangs of Morningside Wednesday night 76-70. The Chargers move to 5-5 on the season and 1-4 in GPAC play.
 
"We played well in stretches tonight, particularly the second part of the first half," said head coach Mark Svagera. "We had too many mistakes in the second half and Morningside did a good job of taking advantage of that. Our goal moving forward is consistent play throughout games."
 
The Mustangs were rolling offensively early, connecting on their first 10 shot attempts as they took a 21-12 lead. In final 10 minutes of the opening half, the Chargers began to chip away at the deficit.
 
BC brought the Morningside lead down to three points twice in the final two minutes and tied it at 37 on a Quinn Vesey triple. Joey Skoff answered with a trey of his own as the Mustangs led by three at half.
 
Matthew Stilwill paced the Chargers with 12 points and four steals in the opening half. He shot 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line.
 
Trailing 70-54 with 3:20 remaining, the Chargers outscored the Mustangs 16-6 but were unable to complete the comeback despite three 3-pointers in the final minute of play.
 
Stilwill scored 24 points on 50% shooting and had six boards and four steals. Jaden Kleinhesselink and Quinn Vesey added 14 points apiece. Vesey knocked down four 3-pointers and had three assists.
 
Briar Cliff is back in the NFC Saturday evening for a GPAC contest against Midland at 3:45 p.m.