Warriors Fall Short to Tigers at Home

FOREST CITY, IA – In their first home game of month of December, the Waldorf men's basketball team hosted the Dakota Wesleyan (SD) Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors were defeated 89-80.

"That was a tough one. We had a pretty bad 1^st half," stated Head Coach Nigel Jenkins. "I loved the way our guys responded in the 2^nd. There was A LOT of adversity in this game and some things didn't go our way, but I thought our guys handled it well."

1^st Half: The Tigers opened the game with a 9-3 lead. The Warriors responded with a 6-0 run with Khyle Washington (SR/Atlanta, GA) and Ugo Ejiofor (JR/Dallas, TX) scoring. Noah Miller (JR/Forest City, IA) made a go-ahead 3-pointer. Dakota Wesleyan went on a 15-0 run. Gabriel Sorensen (JR/West Haven, UT) and Washington made back-to-back three-pointers to make the score 22-29 with just under 10 minutes left.

The Tigers extended their lead 42-28 before Miller added five points. Joshua Woods (SR/Fresno, CA) and Washington each added layups and Khalil Grayson (JR/Milwaukee, WI) closed out the half with with two points. The Warriors were down 48-39.

2^nd Half: Miller started the second half with a three. The Warriors worked their way to bring the game within two with Ejiofor scoring. Back-to-back three-pointers from Gene Noble (JR/Roy, UT) and Miller took the lead 61-60 with 12:18 left. The Tigers were up by seven points. Justin Wiggins (JR/West Palm Beach, FL) made a jump shot and Ejiofor added a layup. 

Grayson went 2-2 from the free-throw line to bring the game within four points, the Tigers were up 78-74. Washington came up big with a three-pointer to be down by two, 82-80, but the Tigers went on to win 89-80.

Washington finished the game with a team-high of 21 points, with 5 assists, and 6 rebounds. Ejiofor added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Miller went 5-7 from the three-point line, and finished with 17 points and Grayson had 14 points. 

Jenkins added, "We have to be consistent with our defense for 40 minutes. With this break, we need to rest up and recover, but most importantly, spend time with family."

Next up for the Warriors is a road game against NCAA Division III Luther College on Saturday, December 30^th. Tip-off is at 4 pm.