Box Score
It was a prime time performance in a prime time game. Dior Ford had a career high 38 points as the Hamline men's basketball team rallied for a 104-99 victory over Otterbein in the opening round of the Trivent Financial For LutheransTournament in Thousand Oaks, California Sunday night.
The Pipers (5-4) will face the host school, Cal Lutheran on Monday, December 30 for the championship at 10:00 p.m. CST. The Kingsmen (9-1) defeated Ripon 82-65 in the opening game of the two day event.
Ford now leads the MIAC in scoring at 19.0 points per game. He doubled that average with a dozen field goals and and 11-for-13 night from the free throw line.
He had a lot of help in the scoring brigade. Zach Moll had a career high 21 points and Austin Johnson added 20. Ford and Johnson led a 47 rebound night with 10 each.
But it was an uphill climb for HU. With the exception of when the score was 2-2, the Pipers trailed the entire first half, going to the locker room with a 48-39 deficit.
They were down by 12 points at 76-64 with 9:49 remaining when Ford and Moll went to work. The pair teamed up for 13 points in a three minute segment that chopped the lead to 79-77. Moll was to hit two three-pointers that finally evened the game at 83 with 4:17 left. The Pipers poked their heads twice but the Cardinals came back both times to force the extra session.
Ford really took over at that point. He connected on a three-point play to give Hamline the lead for good at 90-87. The junior would score eight points in the extra session as Hamline kept the Cardinals at bay the rest of the way. Bennett Cooper chipped in with four points as Hamline outscored Otterbein, 17-12, in the five-minute session.
It was the most points scored by a MIAC team this season and the most by a HU team since a 107-84 win over Buena Vista in November 2009. Ford's scoring total was the highest by a Piper in a game since Eric Clute scored 40 against Northwestern on January 2, 2008.
Hamline now faces a Cal Lutheran team that has won six games in a row. CLU shot 56 percent from the field and went 17-18 from the Free Throw Line in their win over Ripon.
