Williams' shot help Trojans to 1-1 weekend

By: DAN HOLSWORTH, Madison Daily Leader Sports Editor

Donald Williams scored only six points for Dakota State University on Saturday, but one of those points was the most important.  It was Williams' first free throw shot on a 1-and-1 trip to the the line with a half-second left in the game which lifted DSU to a 69-68 win over Dordt College in the DSU Fieldhouse.

Williams was put on the line after being fouled. He missed the second part of the 1-and-1 intentionally as time expired.

Dordt's Luke Ruter tied the game at 68-68 with a 3-pointer. Anthony Scott put up another 3-point attempt but missed the shot, but Williams was in position to get the rebound and was fouled by Brandon Haan.

DSU, which led the game 35-29 at halftime, had been outscored by Dordt 39-34 in the second half.

DSU (1-3), which had lost to Morningside College 77-67 the previous night in the Fieldhouse, got double-figures scoring from four players, led by Leon Blue, who arched in 16 points on 3-for-6 field goal and 10-13 free throw shooting.

Blue helped the Trojans shoot 19-50 from the field and 24-35 at the free throw line.

Shaun Wisdom added 13 points and Ian Wright and Joe Backus each had 12 for the Trojans.

Dordt got seven more field goals than DSU, 26-19. Defenders Haan and Luke Ruter shared game-high scoring honors with 19 points apiece, followed by Derek Keizer with 11 points.

The Trojans had a 35-29 rebound edge over Dordt, and Blue completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Backus had nine rebounds and Wright added six.

Dordt got nine rebounds by Haan and seven apiece from Jim Brinks and Ruter.

The game was delayed late in the second half by five minutes due to a combined electrical/lighting problem. Both teams agreed to play the remainder of the game with limited lighting.

Morningside 77, DSU 67

Morningside took a 34-29 halftime lead into the visitors' locker room Friday and widened the gap in the second half, outscoring the Trojans 43-38 to earned the 10-point victory.

Backus, Blue and Wisdom scored in double digits for DSU, having respective 16-, 15- and 12-point outings. The Trojans shot 24-66 from the field and 14-20 at the charity stripe.

Morningside, which kept its early-season mark perfect at 3-0, was sparked by Tom Regan's 14 points, followed by Brad Schmit with 13 and Tim Johnson at 11.

Morningside had three more 3-pointers, 8-5, than DSU and had a 19-14 scoring edge at the free throw line.

DSU had a 46-38 rebound advantage over Morningside, with Anthony Scott contributing 13 tilt-tops rebounds. Backus nabbed seven caroms and Blue had six.

Morningside got 11 rebounds by Regan, six from Schmit and five by Paul McGill.

Trojans play in Aberdeen this weekend

DSU will be playing in the Presentation-Super 8 Classic this Friday and Saturday at Presentation College in Aberdeen.

On Friday at 8 p.m., the Trojans will take on host-team Presentation College and the University of Minnesota-Morris Saturday at 6 p.m.  

©Madison Daily Leader 2005