Buzzer beater before halftime helps Chargers pass Warriors

The men hosted the men of midland Lutheran in their final regular season game of the year before GPAC tournament, and a possible bid for the National Tournament. The Chargers were also graduating 5 seniors and 3 of the seniors scoring over 1000 points in their career. Three of the seniors scoring over 1000 points were Kyle Semprini, Matt Geelan, and Chase Vander Feen. Other graduation seniors were big men Kyle Swanson and James Larson who has played a key role for the Chargers this season hitting clutch jumpers especially last Wednesday against Mside hitting a game tying 3 to send it to overtime. The Chargers start off hot but cooled off with 3 minutes left till half. With .05 seconds left till half and Chargers inbounding the ball junior Ben Sitzman threw up a hail mary from half court and drained as the Chargers went into halftime with a slim lead against the Warriors. In the 2nd half the Chargers went on a roll as sophomore Jake Shipley started to take it to the rim and draw a couple fouls on the Warriors which put them in the penalty and gave the Chargers a chance to win the game at the free throw strip. The Chargers were led in scoring by Shipley with 14 points, Vander Feen added 13, and Michael Collison and Geelan added 10 a piece. The Chargers beat the Warriors 70-60 and ended there regular season with a 23-7 record and 15th in the nation. The Chargers are back in action on Thursday as they have a 1st round bye in the tournament.

Lady Chargers stomp all over Warriors

The Chargers hosted The Lady Warriors of Midland Lutheran at Flanagan for their final regular season game, the game also featured 3 seniors who would play there final regular season game at Flanagan Morgan Brown, Kendra Collins, and Michelle Determan. There were also 3 senior assistants leaving the Charger bench Brittany Below, Allison Dynes, and Carly Hansen. The Chargers started on a fast pace as the played with a fast and experienced line up at the chargers started the game off leading by more than 15 points. The Chargers fell in love with the 3-point mark as they were shooting threes all game, as they couldn’t cool off. Senior Kendra Collins shot 50 percent from beyond the arc going 4 of 8. The Chargers cruised past the Warriors winning 105-73 and will no roll on to GPAC tournament. The Chargers were led in scoring by Alex Grant with 19 points, 5 others Chargers scored in double figures also including the 3 seniors.

Lady Chargers extend winning streak to 3

The Chargers rolled into Lincoln, Nebraska to play the Prairie Wolves of Nebraska Wesleyan looking to extend there winning streak to 3 games, but by the end of the first half it looked like the Chargers had the game all wrapped up. The Chargers looked like an offensive juggernaut as they were scoring all over the place. The Chargers cruised past the Wolves winning 86-57 as Coach Power’s tough half court defense forced the wolves with costly turnovers and confusion. The senior class of the Chargers Morgan Brown, Kylie Dilla, and Megan Salcedo played really well as the combined for 36 of the 86 points scored. Newcomer Kristen Twait who plays center for the Chargers had a great game scoring 15 points as she was dominating with her low post scoring. The Chargers ended the month of January 6-2 and look to end the final month of the regular season on a good note. The Chargers will play at Dordt on Wednesday as they look to start the new month with a win against a tough Defender team.

Lady Chargers win back to back

Lady Chargers for the past week have played well in there last 2 games as they hosted Concordia Bulldogs last Saturday at the Newman Flanagan Center and had made a miraculous comeback against the bulldogs after a rough first half filled with turnovers and bad transition defense, the Chargers came out with a half court press that had the bulldogs confused. Freshman standout Alex Grant led the Chargers in scoring with 19pts and Senior Morgan Brown came off the bench and gave a big lift for the not just on the offensive side of the ball but defense as well she had 2 key steals in the second half, Brown ended up with 9 points. The Chargers and bulldogs kept in close in the final minutes but Grant had other plans by hitting a key jumper by the baseline as the Chargers ended up winning 72-67. I talked to Brown after the game to get her thoughts on the big win against the bulldogs, “It was a good win for us, we needed to win a game that came down to the wire because we haven’t won a close game, but this shows we can.” Freshman standout Alex Grant whose been playing well for the Chargers lately feels this came go along way, I sat down with Grant to talk about the teams performance against the Bulldogs her roll on the team. “ I thought we plated well as a team and after halftime we really capitalized on our lead,” said Grant. How do you feel about playing a key role in Coach Power's system as a freshman? “At first I wasn’t sure I was ready for that role as a freshman, but I think I'm handling it pretty well so far, anyway I can help my team I'm there and ready.” After having some days off from competition the Chargers had to travel to Mitchell, South Dakota to play Dakota Wesleyan Tigers in another GPAC showdown, the Chargers looked to start a winning streak before playing Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Chargers came out on fire as they were connecting on all cylinders leading the Chargers was point guard Kylie Dilla who ended up having a great game off the bench scoring 22 points, and hit 6 three pointers. The Chargers forced the Tigers to commit 22 turnovers and only shoot 33% from the field. Kela Chiak a native of South Dakota chipped in with 13 points.

Photos from CNOS Classic

Chargers D hold up against Lancers

The 7th ranked Chargers hosted Mount Marty college at the Flanagan, the Chargers looked to rebound after there stunning loss to there cross town rival Morningside at the CNOS classic which was held at the Tyson Event Center. The Chargers had a quick start from point guard Brenton Brown as he scored 5 straight points to take an early lead for the Chargers. Some of the chargers key players weren’t shooting to well from the field, but senior Kyle Semprini went on a tear as he hit 6 three pointers for the Chargers as the rolled past the lancers to get a 76-65 win against the Lancers. Semprini led the Chargers in scoring with 20 points. Sophomore guard Jake Shipley who has been doing well off the bench for the Chargers chipped in 14 points as he hit a couple of cold blooded threes to stretch out the lead for the Chargers. The Chargers are looking for redemption, as they will host the Hastings Broncos Saturday at 4pm as the Broncos gave the Chargers their 1st defeat of the season.

Lady Chargers roll past Lancers

The Briar Cliff Women’s basketball team was going up against the Mount Marty Lancers who were ranked in the top 25 as the 19th team in the nation. The game start off slow for the Chargers as well as the Lancers as teams were struggling shooting the ball, but coming to the end of the half the Chargers got on a run and led at the break 35-26. During the 2nd half the Chargers didn’t look to lose the lead the rest of the game as leading scorers Kela Chiak and Kylie Dilla led the Chargers in scoring with 15 and 14. Chiak who is only a sophomore for the chargers played a key role in the win against the Lancers. I talked to Chiak after the game to get her take on the win, “we played really we as a team and when we play together and play good defense I feel we can be a to watch out for.” At the end of the game Coach Mike Power received his 200th win as the Briar Cliff Head Coach. The Lady Chargers will be back on the court and the Flanagan Center as the host Hastings College.