Dentlinger dominates in big win for IW men

MT. PLEASANT - They say perfection is unattainable, but Iowa Wesleyan's Alex Dentlinger played pretty close to it on Friday night. The New London graduate didn't miss a shot as the Tiger men knocked off preseason favorite Fontbonne University 83-70, avenging a 71-61 loss in the women's game.

Dentlinger went 7-for-7 from the field, 6-for-6 from 3-point land and 8-for-8 at the free-throw line. That performance catapulted the Tiger men to their second win in St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.

'My teammates just got me when I was open,” Dentlinger said. 'They worked to drive in the lane and kick it to me, and that's all I can really ask for.”

The Tigers took a 9-6 lead with 15:14 showing on the first half clock when Jett Tjaden connected on one of his four first-half 3-pointers. Fontbonne never led the game again.

Dentlinger scored 28 points to lead the Tigers. He was the only player on either team to eclipse 20.

'Honestly, I didn't know how many I scored until after the game,” Dentlinger said. 'Our defense is what drives us, and if we can guard them, that's what motivates us.”

Jarryd Fernandes finished with 17 points. Tjaden had 13. Marvin Saintolien scored 10. Kaleb Cresswell had six. Carver Locke scored five points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and both David Seberg and Sy Sanchez finished with two points.

The win moved the Tigers to 3-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play, pushing them ahead of Fontbonne (2-6, 1-3), who was picked to win the conference in the preseason. The Top-2 teams in the preseason rankings, Fontbonne and Westminster, have now both fell at Ruble Arena.

'I don't take too much stock in the preseason rankings,” said Tiger head coach Alex Huisman. 'But they were ranked number one, so you've got to respect that.”

The Iowa Wesleyan women held a 19-14 lead after one quarter and a 37-30 halftime advantage, but a 10-0 Griffin run to start the third spelled doom for the Tigers, who blew another first half lead. Coach Jazmyne Laskey says her team needs to start clamping down on the defensive end in these close conference games.

'We need to take pride in our one-on-one defense,” Laskey said. 'Whatever you do in practice is how you're going to play.”

The Iowa Wesleyan women are now 1-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference. Both squads travel to Spalding University next Saturday.