The Briar Cliff men's basketball team took down the Mount Mercy Mustangs 89-72 behind Blake Sindelar's career-high 31 points. "I was really happy with the energy and effort our guys came out with tonight," said Head Coach Mark Svagera. "I liked our offensive balance and the way we shared the ball, and we have an opportunity to get better."
 
Jamison Helmers got off to a quick start in the first couple of possessions, knocking down a triple and a jumper. The Chargers jumped out to a 19-6 lead in the first six minutes followed by a three-pointer from Matthew Stilwill. The Chargers were efficient in the first half, shooting 16-for-31 and knocking down all five of their free throw attempts.
 
Coming out of halftime, Briar Cliff went on a 12-3 run to lead 52-36 in the first three minutes of the half. Helmers knocked down two triples while Sindelar totaled six points during the stretch. With 12:42 on the game clock, Quinn Vesey drilled a three-pointer and became the 48^th Charger to score 1,000 career points.
 
"I'm really proud of Vesey joining the 1,000-point club tonight!" said Svagera.
 
The Mustangs were unable to find momentum, and the Chargers cruised to an 89-72 victory and opened up the season 2-0.
 
Sindelar recorded a game-high 31 points to go with six rebounds and four steals. Helmers set a new career high of 18 points and six rebounds, going four-for-eight from beyond the arc. Stillwil and Wil Lugar recorded 16 and 13 points respectively.
 
Mount Mercy's Ryan Bartley led the Mustang's with 24 points on 11-for-22 shooting. Anthony Horton Jr. scored 17 points with three rebounds and three assists.
 
The Chargers will hit the road for the KWU Classic in Salina, Kansas this weekend. They take on Bethany on November 3 at 4 p.m. and cap the road trip with Kansas Wesleyan the following day at 6 p.m.