Home sweet home: Jimmies roll past Dordt in GPAC opener

Feb. 25—University of Jamestown men's basketball has been nearly invincible at Harold Newman Arena in 2020-21.

Wednesday's 89-68 victory over Dordt University in the opening round of the Great Plains Athletic Conference tournament improved the Jimmies' fantastic record at home to 13-1 and served as a palate cleanser following two difficult losses away from home to close the regular season.

Jamestown will get a crack at avenging one of those losses Saturday in the conference tournament semifinals. The Jimmies will once again hit the road to play Northwestern College, which rolled 83-77 over Briar Cliff.

Saturday's game is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Orange City, Iowa. It's possible the Jimmies could return to Harold Newman Arena to host the GPAC title game on March 2 following Mount Marty's 76-73 upset over top-seeded Morningside.

"It was nice to be back," said UJ men's basketball coach Danny Neville. "Great crowd, great student section. This was a fun night."

A lot of things went right for the Jimmies against Dordt but two stuck out: rebounding and perimeter scoring from individuals not named Marc Kjos.

Freshman guard Cole Woodford buried all three 3-pointers he attempted, leading seven Jimmies in converting 13 of 24 shots from beyond the arc. Kjos finished with 16 points, nine assists and 4 of 5 from distance, ballooning his 3-point percentage in the last three games to 59%.

Without Kjos, the Jimmies converted 9 of 18 3-pointers attempted Wednesday but were 9 of 33 without him during their two recent losses at Northwestern and Dakota Wesleyan. Jamestown's win also avenged an 87-68 loss at Dordt in January, a game in which the Defenders opened up a 28-9 run in the second half and led by 28.

"Last two games we weren't hitting our shots very well, but we came into this game with confidence that we're still shooters," said Woodford, whose nine points Wednesday were part of 31 scored off UJ's bench. "We knew we didn't give it our best effort down there and we really wanted to prove who we really are. I think we did that tonight and it's just focus on the next one now."

Both Northwestern and Dakota Wesleyan outrebounded Jamestown, but Dordt wasn't as lucky. Walters' NAIA-leading 20th double-double of the season produced 23 points and 11 boards, as Jamestown outrebounded Dordt 41-31 and came up with more than enough defensive stops in the second half to run away.

Walters scored UJ's first five points, which included a 3-pointer, during a 9-2 spurt by the orange to start.

"Rebounding was really big. We kinda struggled last game with that and (Dordt) gets a lot of offensive rebounds," Walters said. "I was just taking what they gave me and not trying to do too much. I hit that one 3 right away, it felt good."

But after leading by 10 the Defenders closed the gap to 41-38 at the half and led 52-50 with 15 minutes remaining before UJ rifled off a game-changing 14-2 run, spurred by six points from Walters and triples from Woodford and Kjos.

Dordt (18-8) was led by 6-foot-7 Jacob Vis who put up 21 points and 10 rebounds.

"They're comfortable here, but we weren't afraid of it," said Dordt men's basketball coach Brian Van Haaften. "I thought we had a really good first half tonight. We got down early and it's a credit to our guys for hanging in there all the way.

"Mason Walters is really good, that's the key," Van Haaften added. "The best players play good in big games, and the ones who play best are usually the ones who get a win."

The Jimmies limited the Defenders to 18% 3-point shooting (4 of 22) and Neville said defense combined with 21 minutes off the bench for junior Devan Praska (6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) was instrumental. UJ senior forward Brock Schrom also rejected three Dordt shot attempts.

"The reason that we won this game is on the defensive end," Neville said. "It's great when we're making shots, but when we're making shots and getting stops then we're really good. Devan Praska gave us big-time defensive minutes. He just does all the little things which we needed tonight."

UJ led 64-54 with 11 minutes remaining following its 14-2 run before the flood gates opened down the stretch.

"We were ready for this game after two tough losses on the road," Neville said. "It was do or die for us and we didn't want to go home."

Walters is looking forward to Saturday's rematch at Northwestern against the Raiders' 6-foot-6 freshman Alex Van Kalsbeek. Walters produced a quiet 16 points and 10 boards in the Jimmies' 88-79 loss to the Raiders two weeks ago.

"That's a game I really want to play," Walters said. "I didn't have the best game there last time, but they got a lot of good players and it'd be nice to get a win there."

GPAC Men's Basketball

Postseason Tournament

(Tournament seeds in parentheses)

Feb. 24

(3) University of Jamestown 89, (6) Dordt University 68

DU 38 30 — 68

UJ 41 48 — 89

DU — Jacob Vis 21, Garrett Franken 13, Jesse Jansma 10, Ben Gesink 9, Cade Bleeker 8, Kendrick Van Kekerix 4, Bryce Coppock 2, Wilson Harshbarger 1. Totals: 26-64 FG, 4-22 3-pointers (Bleeker, Gesink, Franken, Vis), 12-17 FT, 31 Rebounds (Vis 10), 12 Fouls, 14 Assists (Gesink 4), 9 Turnovers, 2 Blocks (Vis 2), 8 Steals (Gesink 5).

UJ — Mason Walters 23, Marc Kjos 16, Jack Talley 9, Cole Woodford 9, Will Cordes 8, Brock Schrom 8, Devan Praska 7, Allante' Pickens 5, Brady Birch 2, Brady Dvorak 2. Totals: 34-63 FG, 13-24 3-pointers (Kjos 4, Woodford 3, Cordes 2, Talley, Walters, Pickens, Praska), 8-11 FT, 41 Rebounds (Walters 11), 18 Fouls, 19 Assists (Kjos 9), 12 Turnovers, 4 Blocks (Schrom 3), 6 Steals (Walters 2, Cordes 2).

Records: Jamestown 19-7. Dordt University 18-8.

Feb. 24

(8) Mount Marty 76, (1) Morningside 73

(4) Dakota Wesleyan 70, (5) Concordia 58

(2) Northwestern 83, (7) Briar Cliff 77

Feb. 27

Mount Marty at Dakota Wesleyan, 3 p.m.

Jamestown at Northwestern, 3 p.m.

March 2

Semifinal winners at highest remaining seed, Time TBA.