Game Information
Score: No. 22 Keiser 82, No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan 75
Records: No. 22 Keiser (12-2), No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan (11-2)
Location: Broward County Convention Center, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

In No. 22 Keiser's final nonconference matchup on the 2019-2020 schedule, the Seahawks squared off with No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan in the Cruzin' Classic, picking up their second win over an NAIA Top-25 opponent this season.
 
The Seahawks dominated in the second half to get past the Tigers, evening the all-time series between the two programs, 2-2.

How it Happened
First Half: No. 22 Keiser 31, No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan 42

• Keiser got on the scoreboard first with two free-throws from Mark Gordon, and the two sides were back-and-forth all the way until the score worked its way to 20-18 KU with 11:48 on the clock. There were four ties and six lead changes during that stretch of play.
• Dakota Wesleyan used an 18-4 run, however, to seize a 36-24 advantage with 8:24 left in the opening half. The Tigers' Samuel McCloud connected on four three-pointers during the run.
• The Seahawks countered with seven consecutive points to draw to within five, 36-31, after a Gordon fastbreak jumper in the paint at the 5:17 mark.
• Keiser's offense was held scoreless for the remainder of the half, as the Tigers went into the break holding a 42-31 lead.

Second Half: No. 22 Keiser 82, No. 7 Dakota Wesleyan 75

• Dakota Wesleyan once again was able to grow their lead to as large as 13 points in the early going of the final 20 minutes of play, and the Tigers led 48-35 with 18:15 remaining.
• Trailing 50-38, Keiser rattled off eight unanswered points to get within four points, 50-46.
• The Tigers' lead was trimmed all the way down to two points, 54-52, as the clock hit 13:21 and Chance Anderson connected with a layup inside.
• No. 22 Keiser just kept coming, and eventually took a 61-59 lead just past the midway point of the half after a 5-0 spurt, which included three free-throws from Gordon and a Jimmy Sylvain transition layup.
• The teams went back-and-forth and couldn't gain much separation from one another, but it was Dakota Wesleyan that claimed a 69-66 lead as the clock went under five minutes to play.
• Keiser proceeded, however, to net the game's next 11 points, buckling down on defense and working their way inside offensively to grab a 77-69 lead with just 40 seconds left. The Tigers were held scoreless for 4 minutes and 38 seconds down that stretch, and Gordon produced seven points on the offensive end as the focal point of the KU attack.
• McCloud was able to connect on his seventh three-pointer of the game for DWU with 29 seconds to play to make it 77-72, but the Tigers were forced to start to put KU to the free-throw line.
• Keiser was up to the task and hit 5-of-6 from the stripe to seal the 82-75 victory on the neutral court, erasing the 11-point halftime deficit to earn the victory.

 KU Highlights

• 1: The game was the first and only neutral court matchup on the 2019-2020 schedule.
• 4: Four Seahawks were in double-figure scoring.
• 7: Dakota Wesleyan's ranking of No. 7 represents the highest-ranked KU victory since the Seahawks defeated No. 3 Warner, 96-60, on Jan. 26, 2017.
• 12: Point guard Ryan Kroll contributed 12 points in the victory.
• 14-10: Malcolm Mabry recorded his second double-double of the season, putting in 14 points while collecting a game-high ten rebounds.
• 16-22: 16 of the game's final 22 points were scored by the Seahawks.
• 17-7: Anderson had 17 points to go along with seven rebounds as a presence on the interior.
• 28-12: Gordon finished with a game-high 28 points on 9-of-20 shooting and 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. He has now scored 20 or more points in each of the 12 appearances he has made this season.
• 28-37: Keiser's aggressiveness to attack the rim paid off, and the Seahawks made 28 of their 37 free-throw attempts.
• 43-30: Keiser held a noticeable advantage in the rebounding battle, 43-30.
• 51-33: Keiser outscored DWU 51-33 in the second half to improve to 12-2 on the season.

Team Leaders
KU

• PTS: Gordon, 28
• REB: Mabry, 10
• A: Gordon, 3
• STL: Gordon/Mabry, 2
• BLK: Gordon, 3

DWU

• PTS: McCloud, 21
• REB: McCloud, 7
• A: Smiley, 7
• STL: Harden, 3
• BLK: Kramer, 2

 
Up Next
No. 22 Keiser will return to TSC play on Saturday, January 4 when the Seahawks host Warner at 4:00 p.m.