Men's Basketball Falls Short Versus Dickinson in NSAA Tournament
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
No. 6 seed Dickinson State (ND) (16-12, 7-6) | 33 | 44 | 77 |
|
No. 3 seed Waldorf (11-16, 6-7) | 32 | 35 | 67 |
FOREST CITY, IA – The Waldorf Men's Basketball Team concluded its 2023-24 season Wednesday night, falling, 77-67, at the hands of Dickinson State at the Hanson Fieldhouse in North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) Tournament play.
The Warriors (11-16) scored the game's first four points. Senior point guard Khyle Washington (Atlanta, GA) scored a layup for the game's first basket. Junior center Ugo Ejiofor (Dallas, TX) then followed with a thunderous dunk to bring the capacity crowd to its feet.
However, Waldorf was unable to sustain the momentum or get into an offensive flow. Dickinson (16-12) countered with an 11-1 run to take the lead they would never relinquish. The Blue Hawks led by as many as ten in the first half, grabbing a 24-14 edge with 9:07 left before halftime.
The Warriors continued to compete through the struggles. Trailing 29-19 with 5:30 remaining in the half, Waldorf played its best stretch of the night. Digging in defensively, the Warriors allowed just four points the rest of the half while slowly chipping away at the deficit. Junior guard Khalil Grayson (Milwaukee, WI) sent the Warriors into the dressing room in style, draining a long three pointer to beat the buzzer to trim the deficit to just one, 33-32, at intermission.
Cold shooting continued to plague Waldorf in the second half, as the Warriors scored just seven points over the first eight minutes. During that span, the Blue Hawks rebuilt their advantage, widening it to a game-high 14 at 53-39 with 13:39 to play.
Trailing 59-46 with seven minutes remaining, the Warriors made one last stand. An Ejiofor layup got the Warriors to within eleven, where they continued to slowly whittle the deficit in the waning minutes. Ejiofor later scored another layup with 4:46 to play to get Waldorf within eight at 63-55, after which they forced a Dickinson turnover.
On the ensuing possession, the Warriors got a rare look at an open three, with junior guard Noah Miller (Forest City, IA) narrowly missing a three pointer that would have cut the deficit to five with 3:59 to go. Waldorf would get no closer than six the rest of the way.
In his final career game, Washington led the Warriors with 18 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists. Washington was a season best 10 for 12 from the free throw line.
Free throw shooting was a bright spot for Waldorf. The Warriors shot 19 for 22, or 86.4 percent, from the line on the night.
Grayson scored 15 points in 29 minutes off the bench for the Warriors. Junior guard Kaelon Harkema (Louisville, KY) collected 11 points. Ejiofor posted a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds to finish as the game's leading rebounder.
The Warriors earned the right to host the game following a strong 5-1 showing at home in conference play. Wednesday's game marked the first true postseason home game for the program since the 2018 NSAA Tournament. Their 6-6 (.500) record was the best in league play since 2019-20, and their third place finish was the highest since placing third in the Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference in 2014-15. The 11 overall wins were the most by a Waldorf team since the 2019-20 team won 12 en route to the NSAA Championship Game.