Jimmies tame Tigers to advance to GPAC championship

Mason Walters (JR/Jamestown, ND) had 25 points and 16 rebounds as the University of Jamestown men's basketball team took down Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) University 81-56 in the GPAC semifinals at Harold Newman Arena Saturday afternoon.

Jamestown (24-8), the fifth seed in the postseason tournament, will face second seed Concordia (Neb.) (24-6) Tuesday in Seward, Neb., in the championship at 7 p.m.

Walters sank all 11 of his foul shots as part of his game-high 25 points, giving him 1669 for his career to moave past Jake Holen (2005-08) into fourth place on the all-time UJ scoring list. Will Cordes (SO/Shakopee, MN) and Cole Woodford (SO/Redwood Falls, MN) were also in double figures with 15 points each.

DWU was led by Jeffrey Schuch with 14 points, while Mason Larson and Nick Wittler added 13. The other two starters--Koln Oppold, who came into the game averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game, and Sawyer Schultz--both went scoreless, each shooting 0-for-7 from the floor.

UJ was in control from the start, opening the game on a 26-4 run over the first ten minutes. The Tigers made just one of their first 17 shots, going nearly nine minutes between field goals. Jamestown's biggest lead of the half came after Brady Birch (SR/Melrose, MN) scored to make it 38-15 with 4:13 remaining, and the Jimmies would take that same 23-point lead into halftime.

Walters reached his double-double in the first half, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. Woodford also had 13 points in the first, making three three-pointers among his five field goals.

Dakota Wesleyan got as close as 15 after Schuch scored to make it 51-36 with 11:46 left, but Jamestown would have the lead back up to 21 again just over four-and-a-half minutes later.

The Jimmies had a dominating 44-12 advantage in points in the paint and controlled the glass 43-31. Jamestown shot only 24 percent from three-point range, but connected on 62 percent (26-of-42) of their shots inside the arc.

This will be UJ's second appearance in the GPAC championship since joining the conference prior to the 2018-19 sason. The Jimmies defeated Morningside (Iowa) 86-84 for the title three years ago today.