Photo via Jimmie Athletics

JAMESTOWN, ND. (NewsDakota.com) – The #14 University of Jamestown men’s basketball team battled for 40 minutes on Wednesday night at home in order to get their 14th win of the season. The Jimmies topped Briar Cliff 83-77 in another tough conference game.

The Chargers were hot from the floor to begin the game, jumping out to an early 18-8 lead. Will Cordes helped get the Jimmies back in the game in the opening half, going 4-for-4 from long range. The Jimmies cut the Briar Cliff lead to two at the break, trailing 37-35.

UJ began the second half on an 8-0 run to go ahead 43-37. With under 12 minutes remaining, Briar Cliff brought the score back to even at 52-52. Jamestown traded buckets for the next six minutes and the two sides remained tied at 65 with less than seven to play. The Jimmies capitalized on free throws down the stretch, hitting all 14 free throws taken in the final five minutes. Jamestown finished 23-for-24 at the line.

Will Cordes had another big night, leading Jamestown with 28 points and five made threes. Mason Walters had 22 points and combined with Cordes, the two went 17-17 at the line. Marc Kjos added 14 points on 5-6 shooting. Kjos surpassed the 1,000 career point mark in the win and became the first Jamestown player to score 1,000 points and dish out 400 assists.

The victory pushes the Jimmies to 14-3 on the year, 6-3 in the GPAC. Jamestown hosts Concordia (NE) on Saturday afternoon following the women’s game. Tipoff is slated for 3:45 PM.