Sioux City, Iowa — The Briar Cliff men’s basketball team knocked down 17 3-pointers on their way to an upset victory over #18 Morningside in the Newman Flanagan Center Wednesday night. Conner Groves and Jaden Kleinhesselink combined for 43 points and 11 treys as BC improved to 6-5 on the season and 4-1 in the GPAC.
The Chargers were red hot out of the gates, connecting on their first four 3-pointers in the first five minutes and 10 total in the first half. Kyle Boerhaveput the Cliff up 5-3 with a triple at the 19-minute mark, and the Chargers held the lead for the remainder of the first half. A Kleinhesselink 3-pointer followed by two straight treys from Groves gave BC their largest lead of the half 37-22.
The Chargers shot 55.6% from the field and 52.6% from deep in the opening half, while holding Morningside to 39.3% from the floor and 18.2% from beyond the arc.
Groves extended the BC lead to 19 points five minutes into the second half with his fifth 3-pointer of the contest. The Mustangs quickly closed the gap, scoring 16 unanswered points in just under five minutes of play.
Despite the Mustang run, the Chargers never relinquished the lead in the second half. Groves and Kleinhesselink combined for 11 points in the final 3:30 of play, and Nick Hoyt iced the upset going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final moments of the contest.
Groves set a new season high with 23 points connecting on 6-of-13 attempts from deep. Kleinhesselink poured in 20 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out five assists. Boerhave added 14 points and nine boards on 5-of-8 shooting.
BC was efficient in all aspects with a 52.7 shooting percentage, 47.2% from deep and 81.3% from the free throw line. The Chargers forced 11 Mustang turnovers with seven steals and scored 11 points off takeaways.
Joey Skoff came off the bench and scored a game high 25 points to lead Morningside. Zach Imig posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Blue and Gold will look to build off tonight’s win on Saturday when they host Midland for a 3:45 p.m. tip-off in the Newman Flanagan Center.
