Warriors Drop Tight GPAC Battle at Morningside; Orr Surpasses 1,500 Career Points

FREMONT, Neb. — Midland University traveled to Sioux City, Iowa, on Saturday evening to face (RV) Morningside University in a Great Plains Athletic Conference matchup. The Warriors fell in a tightly contested game that featured 12 ties and 19 lead changes, as a late-half surge by the Mustangs led to a 104-92 road loss.

Morningside opened the game with a layup and a 3-pointer to take a 5-2 lead. Jake Orr responded with a layup as the two teams traded baskets early. Morningside held a 10-8 advantage before calling a timeout.

After the break, the Mustangs connected on a 3-pointer, but Aiden Sandbothe answered with a layup, followed by back-to-back 3-pointers from Butch Lordeus to give Midland a 16-15 lead. Morningside responded with a layup, but Orr followed with a jumper and a 3-pointer to push the Warriors ahead 21-17.

The Mustangs answered with a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 24-21, prompting a Midland timeout with under 10 minutes remaining in the half. Nick Dolezal sparked a 6-0 run for the Warriors to reclaim a 27-24 advantage, forcing another Morningside timeout.

Following the stoppage, the Mustangs went on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 31-31. The back-and-forth battle continued as Orr scored three consecutive layups and added a free throw to keep Midland in front, 39-35. Morningside responded to tie the game at 39-39 before converting two free throws with 15 seconds remaining.

Orr capped off a strong first half by knocking down a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 41-41. Orr finished the half with 17 points and reached the career milestone of 1,500 points.

Anthony Simon opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Morningside responded with a 7-2 run to take a 48-46 lead, forcing a Midland timeout. The Warriors briefly regained the lead behind baskets from Lordeus and Orr, but the Mustangs answered with an 8-2 run to apply pressure.

A layup by Dolezal and two free throws from Orr tied the game at 56-56. Morningside followed with a 5-0 run before Midland answered to pull within one. The teams continued to trade baskets as the Mustangs held a slim 67-66 edge at the 10-minute mark.

After a timeout, Morningside scored on consecutive layups before Rahaman responded with a 3-pointer. The Mustangs countered with a 5-0 run, forcing another Midland timeout. Morningside then pulled away with a decisive 9-0 run to take an 88-74 lead with five minutes remaining.

Lordeus connected on a 3-pointer, but the Mustangs continued to build the lead, pushing it to 93-77. Midland made one final push behind baskets from Orr and Simon, but Morningside closed out the game at the free-throw line to secure the 104-92 victory.

Midland shot 38-of-79 (48.1%) from the field, while Morningside shot 37-of-57 (64.9%). The Mustangs held a 35-26 rebounding advantage.

Orr led the Warriors with 31 points, surpassing the 1,500-point mark for his career. Lordeus added 22 points, Rahaman scored 11, and Dolezal and Simon each finished with nine.

"It was a tough road game tonight. I know the result wasn't what we were looking for, but we went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 team in our league. I thought tonight was the best we've played offensively in a few weeks, especially while dealing with numerous injuries and a lot of adversity.

Jake was a true warrior tonight and scored the ball really well.

We have to be better defensively in the second half. There were a few possessions where they went on a four-minute run and hit back-to-back 3-pointers that opened up the game.

Our margin for error is small, but we had great energy on the road tonight. We need to replicate that over our last five games." commented head coach Tyler Erwin. 

Midland (10-13, 6-9 GPAC) will travel to Hastings, Nebraska, on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to face Hastings College (5-18, 4-11 GPAC). Tipoff is scheduled for 7:45 p.m.