Mustangs clinch fourth GPAC Tournament championship
Cover photo courtesy of Concordia Sports Information
SEWARD, Neb. — Cross another accomplishment off the list.
For the fourth time in program history, the Morningside University men's basketball team is Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament champions.
The fourth-seeded Mustangs clinched the crown with an 87-77 win over Concordia in Friedrich Arena. Morningside is currently on a four-game winning streak going into the NAIA Tournament. With the win, the Mustangs earned the automatic bid into the national field.
It's the first conference tournament championship since 2017-18, meaning this group of seniors — which has accomplished a lot — finally got to cut down the nets.
"We feel grateful and blessed to be a part of this," said head coach Trent Miller on the KMNS-AM postgame show. "I'm thrilled for our guys. Our seniors had won the conference regular-season championship, but hadn't won the tournament title. This was one of the last things they needed to cross off the list."
The Mustangs started out hot, hitting each of their first four 3-point attempts. Daniel Brocaille had two early 3s. Morningside led by as many as 10 points, after Alex Wilcoxson hit a 3-pointer with 10 minutes, 15 seconds remaining in the half.
Throughout the first half, Morningside shot 55 percent, and made eight 3s. Brocaille already had 19 points in the first 20 minutes, while Wilcoxson hit four first-half 3s for a 12-point half.
Morningside led by as many 16 points during the second half, even though Concordia challenged to take whittle that lead down to as little as seven.
"We're not a vertical team, so we just have to play tough," Miller said. "Over the last few weeks, we put a huge emphasis on rebounding. Our guys took a big step."
Brocaille led the Mustangs with 28 points, making nine shots and three 3s. Wilcoxson scored 15 off the bench, while Joey Skoff scored 10 and Aidan Vanderloo 10.
Brendan Buckley led in rebounds with 10, while Sitti had eight rebounds and eight assists.