Brocaille, Bracker star in GPAC quarterfinal win

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — When the second half began Wednesday night, the Morningside men's basketball team found another gear, and it scored 56 points after the break to defeat Hastings 101-76 in the quarterfinal round of the GPAC Tournament.

From the end of the first half and during the first few seconds of the second half, Morningside went on a 17-0 run.

During that stretch that began with 3 minutes, 59 seconds left in the half, Kaden Van Regenmorter started it off with a made layup. Fitzy Grant added four more points in the paint, while Caleb Dreckman and Alex Wilcoxson added to the run as well.

After the 17-0 run, the Mustangs went 21-for-31 during the second half to give them another game with a 50-plus-percent win.

Overall, the Mustangs made 39 of 65 shots, good for 60 percent shooting. Wednesday's win marked the ninth straight game where they made more than 50 percent of their shots.

The Mustangs also hit eight 3-pointers during the second half, but the shots inside the arc were hitting all night. They connected on 28 of 35 shots inside the 3-point line.

Morningside outscored Hastings 56-28 in the paint, had 12 second-chance points, and won the rebounding margin by 16.

"We took advantage of the size advantage that we had," head coach Trent Miller said. "We had multiple guys step up."

Morningside had six men in double figures, led by senior Caleb Dreckman with 21 points. Dreckman hit eight shots en route to a 21-point game. Wilcoxson connected on four 3s for 17 points. He also had nine assists. Grant and Van Regenmorter both scored 14 points, while the freshman from Hull, Iowa, had nine rebounds.

Freshman Creighton Bracker scored a season-high 15 points in his ninth career game in a maroon uniform.

"I have to be patient and let the game come to me," said Bracker, who played his high school ball at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln. "I've learned to persevere, and trust in God's process. I've had some rough times this season, but I've learned to trust guys around me."

His minutes have increased following two early-season injuries, and has played in double-digit minutes in the last three games.

"He's just starting to come into his own, and he works his tail off every day," Miller said. "It was a product of him being great on the glass, finishing on the glass and playing great defense. He is getting comfortable in our system."

Wednesday also marked a milestone for Daniel Brocaille. The senior from Papillion, Nebraska, scored his 1,000th career point very early in the game. He needed two points going into the postseason opener.

Brocaille has scored 437 points this season, and his season high came Nov. 11 against Peru State (26). He also started off the 2026 portion of the season with a 25-point game against Mount Marty.

He's a 51-percent shooter over the last four years, including a 53-percent clip this season.

"There's a lot of players who want to hit that goal, and I'm very proud to be a Morningside Mustang," Brocaille said. "It's a cool accomplishment, but at the end of the day, I care about my team, I care about how we do as a program, and I want to win."

Morningside advances to the GPAC semifinals on Saturday, with a 3 p.m. tip-off against Concordia. The other semifinal is Mount Marty at Northwestern.