The Briar Cliff men’s basketball team was unable to overcome a rough shooting night on Wednesday dropping a 55-48 contest to Presentation.
Both teams struggled to gain momentum offensively in the opening 20 minutes with neither team leading by more than six. Presentation would head into the break with a 27-23 lead over the Chargers.
The second half started with the two teams trading baskets. A layup from Nick Hoyt followed by a Quinn Vesey steal and score on the inbound pass would jump start a BC run that gave them their largest lead of the contest, 48-38 with six minutes left. The Saints responded with 15 unanswered points to close out a seven point victory.
“Tonight was a disappointing loss,” said head coach Mark Svagera. “We did a poor job of preparing to play at the level required to win on the road.”
Hoyt led all players with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added two steals. Jaden Kleinhesselink grabbed a team high eight rebounds and added eight points.
BC shot 19-of-65 from the field, 3-of-26 from 3-point range, and 7-9 from the charity stripe.
Issac Essien, Ian Kelly, and Qaiyoom Olanlege led a balanced Presentation offense with 12 points each.
The Chargers held the advantage in turnovers 10-20, scoring 18 points compared to Presentation’s three points off turnovers. The Saints outrebounded the Cliff 36-21, including 11 offensive rebounds.
Briar Cliff opens up GPAC play next Wednesday traveling to Mitchell, SD to take on the Tigers of Dakota Weselyan.
