Waldorf bounces back, powers past Clarke

By Aaron Schneider

FOREST CITY – The Waldorf College men’s basketball team rebounded to snap a four-game skid, powering past Clarke University in an 82-57 victory on Monday.
Four players scored in double figures to lead the attack for the Warriors (12-9). Seniors Erik Brewer and Tyler Parrish notched 19 points apiece, junior June Prowell and sophomore Erik English also played big roles by adding 11 points each. It was a career-high scoring night for English.
“Our guys did a very good job,” Waldorf coach Nigel Jenkins said. “It was a great overall effort and a very balanced effort as well.
In addition to a balanced effort on offense, the Waldorf defense held the Crusaders (10-11) to a 20-for-57 (35.1-percent) shooting effort from the field. The Warriors dominated the rebounding battle, amassing a 54-33 advantage on the boards.
“Our defense was pretty solid, overall,” Jenkins said. “Being able to hold those guys down, get to shooters and try to make them put it on the floor was big and obviously, we did a good job rebounding as well.”
Waldorf turned in a solid shooting night, knocking down 30-of-63 attempts from the floor.
Parrish drained 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) shots from the field, including a 5-of-6 (83.3-percent) showing from 3-point range. It was a strong performance for the Odin, Illinois native, who has endured a heavy workload as of late.
“Tyler has been shooting the ball extremely well,” Jenkins said. “It was actually good to rest him. This past weekend, we played him a lot of minutes. It was good to get him off his feet a little bit.”
Brewer sank 7-of-16 (43.8 percent) attempts from the field and made each of his four shots from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-6 forward from Las Vegas also pulled down eight boards.
“Getting offensive rebounds and getting to the line were keys for us,” Jenkins said.
Prowell hit 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) attempts from the floor and also handed out five assists.
Sophomore Kaimen Slay scored eight points for the Warriors. Sophomores Kaden Verdin and BJ Brown turned in five points each. Junior Michael Morgan added four points and ripped down a game-high 11 rebounds.
“We had a lot of guys step up and play some good quality minutes with BJ [Brown], Kaimen [Slay] and Kaden [Verdin],” Jenkins said. “Isaiah Curry was solid from a defensive standpoint and that’s his job.”
Clarke’s Connor Morningstar finished the night with a double-double, tallying team-highs of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Waldorf held the advantage from the perimeter with a 9-of-23 (39.1-percent) shooting effort. The Crusaders connected on 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) shots behind the arc.
At the foul line, the Warriors converted on 13-fo-24 (54.2 percent) attempts while Clarke went 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from the charity stripe.
Waldorf used 15 offensive boards to gain a 17-9 advantage in second-chance points. Clarke was held to zero second-chance points in the second half.
The Warriors outscored the Crusaders in points in the paint by a 34-24 margin.
Despite committing 16 turnovers, Waldorf came away with an 11-10 edge in points off turnovers. Clarke turned the ball over 13 times.
The Crusaders scored the game’s first point on a free throw with 18 minutes, 7 seconds left in the first half for their only lead of the game. Following a 3-pointer by Brewer, the score was tied at 3-all with 17:33 remaining in the opening half. The Warriors then built a 15-point advantage before turning in a 37-26 lead at halftime.
Waldorf struggled to find its rhythm early in the second half as Clarke cut the lead to 43-35 with 16:01 to go.
“The start of the second half, we were a little sluggish but we eventually figured it out and bounced back to finish,” Jenkins said. “I still think we can be better and hopefully, we will be.”
The Warriors locked down defensively and shot 17-of-34 (50 percent) from the floor in the second half to spark a 39-22 run for the remainder of the contest.
“I’ve been trying to preach to these guys about being consistent in our play and mostly on the defensive end and trying to put together a legit 40 minutes of good defense,” Jenkins said. “This win was a product of that.”
Waldorf returns to action against Mount Mercy University (18-5) in Thursday’s 7:30 p.m. matchup at Cedar Rapids. The Mustangs are ranked No. 22 in the latest National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Division II poll and will present the Warriors with a challenging road test.
“They’re a tough team,” Jenkins said. “They’re balanced and they work extremely hard. They have aspirations of getting to the national tournament as well, so we’re going to have our hands full.”