Men's Basketball Pulls Away from Hesston in GPAC Tune-up

CRETE, Neb. — The Doane men's basketball team showcased its offensive depth and defensive balance on Tuesday night, rolling to a 90-54 victory over Hesston College inside the Haddix Center. The Tigers improved to 4-2 on the young season, while Hesston fell to 0-8.

Doane shot a blistering 58% from the field, connecting on 11-of-25 from beyond the arc and outscoring the Larks 46-24 in the paint. The Tigers' balanced attack featured four players scoring in double figures, led by Justus Gardiner's 19 points, Jack Wilson's 12 points and nine rebounds, and Casen Chaney's 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

The Tigers opened the game strong, racing out to a 39-25 halftime lead behind Gardiner and Chaney, who combined for 18 first-half points. Doane's bench then helped break the game open in the second half, outscoring Hesston 51-29 over the final 20 minutes.

Trevon Beckman added 10 points and three steals, while Jonan Claussen dished out a game-high six assists to go with seven points and five rebounds. Doane's reserves also delivered key contributions — Aadam Coulibaly scored six points with three rebounds, and Logan Boyer added five points and three boards.

Defensively, the Tigers limited Hesston to just 38% shooting overall and 14% from three-point range. Doane held a commanding 43-21 advantage on the glass and forced 11 Lark turnovers.

Hesston was led by Trent Thompson, who finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Antonio Odum scored nine points with four assists and two steals.

Doane will head into conference action on Saturday when they host Northwestern at 3:45 PM.