Lincoln, Neb. -- The Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves won their third consecutive American Rivers Conference men's basketball tournament with a 76-50 win over The Coe Kohawks.

The three-time defending conference champions thus earned the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship that begins next weekend. NWU will learn their first-round opponent when the full field is announced Monday, March 2 at 12:30 p.m. (ET) on NCAA.com. Going into todays' championship game, NWU ranked second in the West Region,

NWU had four players reach double digit scoring figures, paced by Clay Reimers who recorded his third straight double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Cordell Gillingham was the teams top scorer with 18. Dylan Dirks also added 18 points while Nate Bahe drained 10. Cordell and Bahe each grabbed six boards as the second leading rebounders. 

As a team, NWU shot 41.0% (25-of-61) from the field, 40.0% (12-of-30) from deep, and 77.8% (14-of-18) at the free throw line. 

The Kohawks' points came by committee on championship night, with four players tallying six-a-piece. Josh Schmitt was the Kohawks' top point scorer with 12. Grabbing five rebounds as Coe's leader on the class was Jacob Robertson.

The Kohawks finished the night 19-of-54 (35.2%) from the field, 9-of-34 (26.5%) from three point range, and 2-of-4 (75%) from the free throw line. 

The Prairie Wolves, now 24-3 overall, will make their third-straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Two seasons ago, NWU hoisted the Division III Men's Basketball championship trophy, while last year, the Prairie Wolves advanced to the Division III round of 32 before bowing out. This year's trip to the Big Dance will mark the 17th time in program history.

Coe, playing in its fourth conference championship game, finishes the season 17-10.
 

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