Crete, Nebraska — Dordt University fell to Doane, 82-80, in a conference match-up played Wednesday in Crete, Neb.
The Defenders dropped their second consecutive game and are now 5-5 in the conference, 13-6 overall.
Doane erased an 8-point deficit over the final seven minutes to earn the come-from-behind win.
Bryce Coppock led the Defenders with 26 points, making good on 10-of-16 field goals including all four of his three-point attempts. Coppock has scored 20+ points in three straight and six of his last seven games.
Cade Bleeker added 19 points and five rebounds while Luke Rankin chipped in 16 points to go with a team-leading four assists.
Coppock converted a pair of free throws to put the Defenders up 72-64 with seven minutes left to go. Doane rallied, using a 12-3 run, finished off with five straight points from Anthony Laravie, to take back the lead (76-75) with 3:15 left.
Following a lay-up by Doane guard Josiah Gardiner to put the Tigers up by three, Bleeker knocked down a long three-pointer from the left wing to tie the score at 78 with 47 seconds left. Doane grabbed the lead back with a lay-up from Brady Timm only to have Rankin convert a pair of free throws with 13 seconds left to tie the score at 80.
After a Doane timeout, Timm drew a foul and made the game-winning free throws with four seconds left. Rankin’s last second three-pointer was off-line, giving the Tigers the win.
Both teams shot well from the field; Dordt at 50% and an even better 53% (10/19) from the three-point arc. Doane shot 58% both from the field and the three-point line.
Doane held as much as a 13-point lead in a first half where they shot 64%. Dordt trimmed the lead down to 10 (40-30) by halftime and used a 14-2 run to take a 56-54 lead after a Coppock three-pointer (56-54) with 12 minutes to go.
Gardiner led Doane with 28 points and was complimented by Laravie’s 23 points. Alec Oberhauser added a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Doane held a 33-22 advantage on the boards. They improve to 4-6 in the GPAC, 11-9 overall.
Dordt will host Briar Cliff on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 6:45pm.
