Men's Basketball Comes Up Short Against Cougars

MORRIS, MN – The Waldorf men's basketball team had their fifth straight road game against the NCAA Division III Minnesota-Morris Cougars on Monday evening. In a last second chance to force overtime, the Warriors were defeated 70-67.

"Two completely different halves for us tonight, especially on the defensive end and the numbers show that," Head Coach Nigel Jenkins said. "We would have played 40 minutes of defense instead of 20 minutes, the outcome could have been in our favor."

1^st Half: Khalil Grayson (JR/Milwaukee, WI) grabbed an offensive rebound and made a layup to get things going for the Warriors and Noah Miller (JR/Forest City, IA) added a 3-pointer. The Cougars responded with three straight three-pointers. Miller drained another three to tie the game at 13-13. 

Gabriel Sorensen (JR/West Haven, UT) forced a Cougar turnover with a steal and turned it into a dunk. The Cougars were up by seven before Miller hit another three. Sorensen scored the last eight points for the Warriors to close out the half. Waldorf was down 31-40.

2^nd Half: The Warriors came out of halftime with an 8-0 run. Ugo Ejiofor (JR/Dallas, TX) started the run with a dunk and back-to-back layups. Ejiofor then came up with a steal and Gene Noble (JR/Roy, UT) added two points to force a Cougar timeout. The Cougars went up by seven before Noble drained three 3-pointers to tie the game at 48.

The Cougars then went on an 11-0 run. Sorensen stopped the run with a layup and Miller added a three. The Warriors brought the game within five, 59-64 with 3:34 left. Justin Wiggins (JR/West Palm Beach, FL) made a layup and Grayson drained a three to tie the game at 66. The Cougars made a layup. Ejiofor made a free-throw and the Cougars responded with two made free throws. Miller just missed a deep three to force overtime. The Warriors fell 70-67.

"I give our guys credit though. We could have folded but we battled and came from behind to give ourselves a chance," added Jenkins. "Miscommunication late gave them the lead. Miller had a great look to tie it, it just went in and out."

Ejiofor finished with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds with 1 steal and 1 block. Noble added 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists. Miller also had 16 points with 3 assists, Sorensen tallied 12 points and Grayson added 11. 

The Warriors have a quick turnaround with an exhibition game at the University of North Dakota tomorrow, Tuesday, December 12^th. Tip-off is at 7 pm.