Conner Groves is the newest member of the Briar Cliff men's basketball 1,000-point club after a 17-point performance in a 70-45 win over Doane. The Chargers wire-to-wire win was their fifth victory in the Newman Flanagan Center this season.
 
"Really happy with the energy and effort we played with defensively tonight," said head coach Mark Svagera. "We came out and really got after them and the guys really executed our game plan with a lot of discipline. That's something we've been able to do at times this year but sustaining it for most of the 40 minutes was a big step forward for us. Offensively, we got some things going, it took us a little while to settle in."
 
Groves scored in double-digits in his fourth straight game tonight and has shot over 50.0% from the field in three of those contests. As a team, the Chargers connected on 15 3-pointers and were paced by Groves' five triples. Groves became the 47th member of the BC 1,000-point club and joins teammate Jaden Kleinhesselink who surpassed the mark last season.
 
Groves and Kleinhesselink gave the Cliff an early 9-3 as the duo scored the nine points, all off 3-point baskets. Leading 11-7 at the 13-minute mark, the Chargers received a spark from their bench unit in Nathan Hall, Blake Sindelar and Jamison Helmers. The trio scored 16 of the Chargers next 18 points as they extended their lead to 29-15. Sindelar poured in 11 points over the seven-minute stretch and hit three 3-pointers.
 
"For the third or fourth time here recently, our bench was really good," said Svagera. "Sindelar gave us a big boost offensively in the first half. Hall had six assists and Helmers made a couple huge defensive plays for us. That was a huge plus for us and something we can continue to build on as we move forward."
 
The Chargers kept their foot on the gas in the second half, extending to their lead to as many as 29 points after a Kamden Wingert 3-pointer late in the contest.
 
Jaden Kleinhesselink added 13 points followed by Sindelar's 12 points. Four other Chargers tallied six or more points. Quinn Vesey and Kyle Boerhave had a team high seven rebounds apiece. Hall dished out a team best six assists.
 
The Charger defense limited Brady Timm, one of the GPAC's top scorers, to 12 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Overall, Briar Cliff held the Tigers to a 34.5 shooting percentage and 5-for-19 from deep. BC set a new season low in points allowed at 45, and was four points off the team record of 41 points set in the 1987-88 season against Mount Mercy. 
 
The Chargers will have a tough road test upcoming as they head to #9 Jamestown in Jamestown, North Dakota.