Matthew Stilwill poured in a game-high 31 points and recorded six steals as the Chargers downed the Tigers of Doane 81-64 Saturday afternoon. Stilwill 13-for-20 from the field and 4-for-7 from downtown in the contest.
Jamison Helmers added 18 points and went seven-for-12 from the field and four-for-eight from downtown.
Wil Lugar had a near double-double with 10 points and eight rebounds to go with three blocks.
"I thought our guys set a really nice tone to the game today, building an early lead and that momentum could carry throughout the game," said Head Coach
Mark Svagera. "Even though Doane had a run midway through, I liked the way we ended the first half and build that lead back to double-figures."
Blake Sindelar in his first game back chipped in eight points and went four-for-six from the field off the bench.
Colby Collison chipped in seven points and grabbed three rebounds.
Kamden Wingert off the bench provided solid defense in 14 minutes of action.
Briar Cliff stormed out to a 14-2 lead in the opening minutes of the half, as Lugar pinned Doane's Sheldon Cooper's shot off the backboard, leading to Stilwill corralling the rebound and taking it coast-to-coast. The Cliff led by as many as 15 in the quarter, as Vesey swiped the ball away from Doane's Brady Timm that led to a three from Stilwill on the other end. Briar Cliff held a 39-28 lead heading into intermission.
The Chargers opened the second half with back-to-back threes from Stilwill and
Tyrus Eischeid. Briar Cliff led by 20 with 14:33 in the half after a three from Helmers and a pair of free throws from Lugar. The Chargers outscored the Tigers 42-36 in the second half.
"Coming out of the gate in the second half with the same intensity was really good and I was happy with the urgency we played with," said Svagera. "I thought
Jamison Helmers had a huge second half on the offensive side, and between Colby,
Blake Sindelar, and Kam WIngert we got solid minutes off the bench."
The Chargers shot 54% from the field, and 44% from beyond-the-arc in the contest. BCU forced 14 turnovers and held the Tigers to 26% from three.
The Chargers improve to 14-10 on the season (8-8 GPAC), and will return to action next Wednesday, as they host the Red Raiders of Northwestern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.
#BattleOn
