Feb. 7, 2008

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By Matt Higgins - Daily Republic

MITCHELL, S.D. -- Colby Fitzgerald stepped to the free-throw line with 1.5 seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on No. 8 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) University's 91-79 upset of previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked Morningside (Iowa) College on Wednesday (Feb. 6).

Before Fitzgerald shot, public address announcer Steve Culhane addressed the raucous Corn Palace crowd of 2,098 and reminded them to stay off the court following the conclusion of the game.

Yeah, right.

Both of Fitzgerald's free throws hit nothing but net, and after a token in-bounds pass, the Tigers' student section, clad in all white, emptied onto the floor and mobbed the DWU players in a celebration that was the perfect exclamation point to an unforgettable victory.

"It's one of our best wins in school history," Hemenway said. "Our kids really played tonight."

Incredibly, it isn't the only Tigers' upset of a top-ranked team in recent memory. DWU knocked off then-No. 1 University of Sioux Falls at the Corn Palace, 72-60, on Jan. 27, 2007. Tigers' senior swingman Marcus Vontz said that experience helped a little, and DWU came into Wednesday's game with positive feelings.

"We came in thinking we were going to win, but we knew we had to play well," Vontz said. "To upset the No. 1 team in the nation, it feels really good right now, especially two years in a row."

The Tigers' confidence was evident from the opening tip. After the two Great Plains Athletic Conference rivals battled back and forth for the first few minutes, Morningside hit back-to-back three pointers to take a 14-12 lead. That turned out to be the Mustangs' only lead of the game, and it didn't last long.

DWU freshman guard Chase Walder hit from three-point land on the Tigers' next two possessions to take the lead back, and senior point guard Andrew Lasche followed with a three-pointer from the top of the key to cap a 9-0 DWU run, and send the Corn Palace crowd into a frenzy. Despite the surge, Lasche said his team was careful to stay even-keel.

"We knew we had to stay on a steady line the whole game," he said. "We didn't want to get too hyped up in the beginning, because if we did, we're going to come straight down and not play well in the second half."

Morningside's Nick Thompson stopped the run with a basket in the paint, but the Tigers were ready with another surge. Preston Broughton hit a pull-up jumper, Lasche drilled another three and Ike Muoneke scored inside. The Mustangs managed another inside basket, but Muoneke answered with a one-handed slam to put DWU up 12, 30-18.

The Tigers' lead hovered around 11 points, but DWU ended the half with another strong run with contributions from nearly the entire lineup. Scott Nelson hit a three and Brady Wiebe hit a pair of free throws to make it 46-30. Then Wiebe found Vontz and Nelson with gorgeous passes for layups on back-to-back possessions to send the Tigers into the locker room with a 50-32 lead.

Without question, it was DWU's best half of the season, and it came at a perfect time. Quite simply, everything the Tigers tried, worked.

"I'd make a call and it would work, and I'd look like a genius, but the kids were the ones making it work," Hemenway said. "Everything we did just really worked in the first half. It was almost a perfect half of basketball."

"Everything was working for us," Vontz added. "It was about as well as we can play."

Over the first five minutes of the second half, the Mustangs were able to cut the lead down to 12, 60-48, but DWU responded. Vontz converted a three-point play, Wiebe hit a pair of free throws, Nelson scored inside and Broughton hit a deep three. However, after Lasche drilled a jumper to give the Tigers' their largest lead (21) at 72-51, the lid went on the basket.

Walder drove in for a layup with 9:54 remaining, and that would be DWU's final field goal. Morningside took advantage with a monumental run to pull within single digits. And with 1:25 remaining, DWU was only up six, 80-74. The Mustangs were on a 23-8 run.

"In the second half they make that run at us," Hemenway said. "You tighten up a little bit; you don't want to make a mistake. It's tough to play that way."

Fitzgerald was 6-for-6 and Vontz was 5-for-6 from the line in the final 1:25, and Vontz grabbed two huge rebounds to seal the win and start the celebration.

"Just stay positive," Hemenway said when asked what he told his team during the Mustangs' run. "I thought we did good job stepping up and making free throws."

As a team, the Tigers were 32-of-36 from the free-throw line. Wiebe was 9-for-10, Fitzgerald was 8-for-9, Vontz was 6-for-7 and Broughton was 5-for-6.

The Tigers' stat sheet reflected the balanced effort. Fitzgerald scored 17 points, Vontz added 15, Broughton had 14 points and eight rebounds, Nelson scored 11 points, Wiebe had nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Muoneke had nine points and four blocked shots, Lasche had eight points and four assists and Walder had eight points.

"We had such a total team effort, but that's our team," Hemenway said. "We had so many guys going at them. That's tough to match up with."

Morningside's Seth Atkins led all scorers with 20 points. David Price, Jack Rother and Brady Helmink each added 11 points and Mustangs' head coach Jim Sykes was denied his 100th career victory. He currently sits at 99-35 overall.

After the game, Hemenway and his players were quick to credit the overwhelming fan support. DWU has not drawn well this season, but the top-10 matchup brought out the best in Mitchell, and the Tigers were appreciative.

"That huge crowd helped out a lot tonight," Vontz said. "It was good to get everybody here and get the place going."

"I hope we have (that crowd) every night," Lasche added. "I love it and hopefully they'll come to every game we have left."