Lincoln, Nebraska - After sharing the 2016-17 regular season title, the Nebraska Wesleyan Men's Basketball team clinched the 2017-18 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) regular season title tonight with a 104-80 home victory over Central College (10-14 overall, 7-8 IIAC). The title is NWU's second in as many years with the conference and improved the Prairie Wolves record to 13-3 in the IIAC and 22-3 overall.
Forty-four seconds into the first half,
Deion Wells-Ross got the high-powered Prairie Wolf offense on the board with a 3-pointer. From there, NWU would open up an 8-0 lead before Central would score their first bucket of the game, three minutes and 47 seconds in. Nebraska Wesleyan maintained a steady lead throughout the first half. With 8:11 left in the first, NWU held a 30-20 advantage and didn't look back. The Prairie Wolves gained an 11 point advantage with 6:25 remaining and continued to find the basket, going on a 13-2 run the final 5:18. NWU closed out the half with a 19 point lead, 49-30.
In the first half NWU shot 60% (18-30) from field, 54.5% (5-11) from 3-point and went a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. Central went 11-31 (35.5%) from the field in the first half and put up 19 shot from three-point land but only connect on four (21.1%). At the free throw line the Dutch went 4-6 (66.7%).
In the second half Central came out with a purpose, going on an 11-2 run and cutting NWU's lead to 10, 51-41. The early second half run is all NWU would allow, as they pursued their second Iowa Conference title in two years. From 17:27 on in the second half the Prairie Wolves would not let Central get within 10 points. With 10:12 remaining in the game
Cooper Cook put in a layup and one to give NWU its largest lead of the game, thus far, 71-50. With 1:01 left in the game NWU's
Ty Bardsley hit a 3-pointer to extend their lead to 104-76, their largest margin of the game. By a score of 104-80, Nebraska Wesleyan put the finishing touches on their second Iowa Conference Regular Season Championship. Tonight's win also means NWU secured the Iowa Conference Tournament's No. 1-seed and right to host their games throughout the tournament.
Nebraska Wesleyan finished the game shooting 60.3% (35-58) from the field, 54.2% from three point (13-24) and 87.5% (21-24) from the free throw line. Central shot 45.3% (29-64) from the field, 33.3% (12-36) from three point and 76.9% from the free throw line (10-13). In the paint NWU out rebounded the Dutch 36 to 24 and put up 40 points to Central's 32. Central turned the ball over 15 times to NWU's 12. The Prairie Wolves capitalized on Central's turnovers, scoring 27 points, while the Dutch converted 15 points off turnovers.
The Prairie Wolves were led in scoring by
Ryan Garver, who went 7-10 from the field, 1-1 at the line and converted 9 of 11 free throws for 24 points. With 19 points, Cook was NWU's second leading scorer.
Nate Bahe led the conference champions down low with eight boards and Garver added six to the team rebounding total. NWU came up with 12 steals on the night, with Garver and Cook each credited with three to lead the team. Garver capped off a big night with nine assists, also a team high.
Central's
Kyle Smith scored a team high 18 points on the night and added a team best seven assists.With five rebounds,
Jamel McKnight led the Dutch, while
Caden Bauck and Smith each added three.
Malik Wildermuth tallied 12 points in the contest as Central's second leading scorer.
The 2018 Iowa Conference Men's Basketball Tournament begins on Tuesday, February 20. The first round matchups are No. 3 hosting No. 6 and No. 4 hosting the No. 5 seed. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive first round byes and will host the semifinals on Thursday, February 22. The IIAC Tournament Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, February 24 with the highest remaining seed to host. The winner of the IIAC Men's Basketball Tournament receives the conferences automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
