SIOUX CITY — Creston native Jay Wolfe, Nodaway Valley product Jackson Lamb and the Briar Cliff men’s basketball team are heading to the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship game.
Behind 19 points from Wolfe and 12 from Lamb, the Chargers outlasted crosstown rival Morningside 87-72 Saturday in the GPAC semifinal at the Newman Flanagan Center.
Briar Cliff, 26-6, will take on Northwestern (Iowa) Tuesday in the GPAC Championship game, The Red Raiders, 25-6, advanced with an 84-65 win Saturday in Orange City.
Tip is set for 7 p.m. at the Newman Flanagan Center in Sioux City.
Briar Cliff has now won 12 straight overall.
The Chargers led 44-37 at halftime and outscored Morningside 43-35 in the second half. Briar Cliff led by as many as 19 in the second half.
Bryan Forbes had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Chargers. Shane Graves had 15 points, eight assists and two steals. Erich Erdman added 14 points.
Briar Cliff was on fire from long range, knocking down 19 three-point baskets. The Chargers currently lead NAIA Division II in triples with 12.4 per game. Erdman and Lamb both sank four 3-pointers, followed by Wolfe and Forbes with three apiece.
The Chargers outscored the Mustangs 22-4 in points off turnovers and shot 50 percent from the field.
Tuesday’s meeting will be the third this season between the Chargers and Red Raiders. Each won on the others home court. Northwestern won 80-65 on Nov. 16 in Sioux City. Briar Cliff won 103-77 in Orange City on Jan. 18.
Both teams are now assured an automatic berth to the NAIA Men’s Division II National Tournament in Point Lookout, Mo, which runs March 8-14 at Keeter Gymnasium on the campus of College of the Ozarks.
Briar Cliff won the GPAC’s regular season title and automatic berth that came with it. Northwestern garnered the second berth by reaching the league final and Briar Cliff reaching the title game.