Behind a strong first half, the top-seeded Viking men's basketball team defeated No. 9 seed Iowa Wesleyan 80-59 in the quarterfinal round of the MCC Tournament tonight in Des Moines.

The Grand View defense had 10 steals and held the Tigers to 26.9% in shooting in the first half. The Vikings jumped out to an early 16-8 lead in the opening five minutes and never looked back. GV built a steady lead in the first half and held its largest lead, 38-19, at the half.

The Vikings opened the second half with a Kevin Smith (Ankeny, Iowa) dunk for their largest lead of the game, 40-19, assisted by the nation's assist leader Grant Burns (Monroe, Iowa). Smith and Burns connected for two crowd-pleasing dunks tonight.

Iowa Wesleyan hung tough throughout the half, whittling the Viking lead down to 12 points, 57-45, with 9:31 left in the game. The momentum shifted back in GV's favor after Corey Viet (Ackley, Iowa) was fouled on a layup and made the bucket. An IWC player was assessed a technical foul. Greg Schulz (Carroll, Iowa) sunk two free throws, followed by Viet's made free throw, to put the Vikings up 63-45. The GV lead returned to double digits and the Tigers were unable to make another run in the game.

Three Vikings were in double figures led by Viet's 17 points and seven rebounds. Schulz made three three-pointer in a 13 point effort. Smith finished with 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Matt Banzaf (Ackley, Iowa) led all rebounders with 10 boards to go along with his nine points and four assists. Burns finished with seven points and nine assists.

As a team, GV shot 43.5% (30-of-69) from the field and 75% (15-of-20) from the free throw line. The Vikings collected 13 steals and outrebounded the Tigers 38-32.

The Vikings (23-7) advance to the semifinal round of the MCC Tournament and will host No. 4 Ashford on Friday. Game time is 7 p.m.