Briar Cliff men’s basketball hosted Dordt in the Newman Flanagan Center Tuesday night and fell 74-73. BC falls to 4-5 on the season and are 2-1 in the conference.
The first half was tightly contested with the score 17-all at the 10-minute mark. Dordt opened up their largest lead of the half 38-29 with 2:36 left. Matthew Stilwill converted an and-one, followed by a pair of free throws from Quinn Vesey brought the Chargers within four. The Chargers trailed 40-37 at halftime after Vesey nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Kyle Boerhave (11), Vesey (10) and Stilwill (10) combined to score 31 of the Chargers 37 first half points.
Jaden Kleinhesselink got the Cliff rolling to start the second half, scoring two straight buckets in the paint to pull within one point 43-42. Vesey hit his third 3-pointer of the night to give BC their first lead since 8:00 left in the first half.
Dordt regained the lead with an 11-0 run with eight minutes remaining. Kleinhesselink knocked down a trey as the Cliff lead 73-72 with a minute left. Bryce Coppock made two free throws on the next possession. Trailing by one, Kleinhesselink’s last second 3-pointer was off the mark as Dordt took a 74-73 win.
“We were pretty good in stretches tonight, but unfortunately had too many lapses that cost us in the end,” said head coach Mark Svagera. “We need to continue to strive for consistency as we move forward.”
Boerhave scored 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting with seven rebounds. Vesey scored a season high 19 points knocking down 4-of-6 3-point attempts to go with six rebounds. Kleinhesselink chipped in 12 points and seven boards. BC held an edge in paint points 34-26 and bench points 13-7.
Jacob Vis had a near double-double with 22 points and nine rebounds. Bryce Coppock also scored 22 points and made three 3-pointers.
BC hits the road to Maryville, Missouri on Friday for an exhibition with Northwest Missouri State. The Cliff returns to conference action next Wednesday against Nortwestern in Orange City, Iowa
Briar Cliff Men Drop Close Game to Dordt
