GPAC

[Men's Basketball] MBB to Postseason After Dropping No. 22 BCU; Laravie Hits 2K

Doane Men's Basketball closed out the regular season on Friday evening by hosting No. 22 Briar Cliff. The Tigers, looking to add to their resume for the argument of a bid to the NAIA National Tournament Opening Round, did so by knocking off the 22nd-ranked Chargers by 22 points, 63-41. The victory was capped by holding BCU to 14 points in the second half of play.The first half was a tight battle as both teams had moments where they struggled to score. The Chargers led 27-23 after the opening 20 minutes of play with the score tied twice and Doane holding one brief advantage late in the half. Josiah Gardiner (SO/Milford, Neb.) led all scorers with eight points at the break as Doane shot 38-percent from the floor and BCU converted at a 42-percent clip.At halftime of the game, the Doane Student-Athlete Leadership Team (SALT) awarded the annual Dr. Jim Johnson Award. The award is given to a faculty or staff member outside of the athletic department who makes a positive impact on student-athletes. Nominations are made by team representatives and selected by SALT.This year's selection was Cindy Meyer, Associate Professor of Physical Education. Meyer, Doane's all-time wins leader for the volleyball program, continues to not only teach at Doane since her retirement from coaching but remains an active supporter of Tiger Athletics, especially of the student-athletes she works with in the classroom.The second half opened with Doane scoring the first two baskets to tie the game. A Briar Cliff free throw put the Chargers back up by one, 28-27, with 18:35 to play. It would be their last lead as Anthony Laravie (SR/Omaha, Neb.) hit a 3-point basket that would give the Tigers the lead for good. The basket started a 7-0 run which was halted by a BCU 3-pointer. Doane scored four of the next seven points to hold a 38-34 lead with 15 minutes to play.A pair of Gardiner free throws started a 10-0 run over the next 4:30 of play. The final 10 minutes of the game did not have a lot of scoring, but the baskets that were made came primarily from the Tigers. Doane held a 15-7 advantage down the stretch as they pushed a 14-point lead to 22 points, the largest of the game, following the last score from Trey Winkler (SR/Gering, Neb.).Adding to the highlights of the victory was a milestone mark for Laravie in the final minutes of the game. With 2:52 left, Laravie knocked down a 3-point basket and on the next Tiger possession he was fouled and sent to the free throw line. On his second made free throw, Laravie would check out of the game as he joined the exclusive 2000-point club and became just the seventh member in men's basketball history.Laravie led all scorers with 19 points and three assists. Gardiner joined him in double figures with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Alec Oberhauser (SR/Parkersburg, Iowa) continued to clear the glass of basketballs, pulling down 18 rebounds in the game to tie his career-high. It marked the fifth straight game of double-digit rebounds for Oberhauser, including four games of 15 or more boards.The GPAC Tournament is next for the Tigers and they learned on Saturday evening that they would be making a trip to Orange City, Iowa, to take on Northwestern at 8 PM on Wednesday, February 23.