LINCOLN, Neb. – Seventh-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan advances to the second round of the NCAA III Tournament for the third consecutive season but it wasn't easy as the Prairie Wolves had to rally back from a halftime deficit to defeat Webster University 77-73 on Friday night (March 6) in round one of the 2020 NCAA III Tournament at Snyder Arena.
NWU now advances to Saturday's second round game for a top 20 showdown with No. 16 Washington University who blew out Bethany Lutheran 102-68 in the first game of the night on Friday. The Prairie Wolves and Bears will face each other on Saturday night at 7:30 pm.
Webster led 37-29 at halftime, thanks to their tough zone defense and poor shooting by the Prairie Wolves. NWU was 1-14 from 3-point land in the first half and just 36.7 percent overall.
In the second half, the Prairie Wolves scored on their first seven possessions of the half, and tied the game less than three minutes in. The Gorloks battled and went toe-to-toe with the nationally-ranked Prairie Wolves and built their lead back up to six points.
A 3-pointer from Jack Hiller at the 13:12 mark gave the Prairie Wolves a one-point lead, then the teams changed leads four times over the next six minutes.
Center Clay Reimers found a cutting Nate Bahe on layup in the lane to put NWU up 69-67 with 4:55 left and the Prairie Wolves would not give up the lead again. After a stop at the other end, Cordell Gillingham made a layup on the left side to give NWU a four-point advantage.
Reimers, who scored a career-high 29 points, put NWU ahead by six points with 2:07 remaining but he couldn't convert the old fashioned 3-point play keeping it a two possession game.
Trailing by five with under a minute to go, Webster guard Wynne Brown Jr buried a 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to cut the lead to two points at 75-73. The Gorloks quickly fouled putting Nate Bahe at the line for two shots. Bahe hit one of two to make it a three point lead with 33 seconds left.
Webster had two 3-point shot attempts to tie the game, however both missed and Dylan Dirks was able to secure the rebound and get fouled with three seconds left. Dirks made one of two free throws to give NWU a four-point advantage and that would be the final.
After shooting only 36.7 percent in the first half, the Prairie Wolves made 64.0% in the second half to score 48 points. They made 4-9 from 3-point land to end the game at just 5-23 from beyond the arc.
Webster shot exactly 50 percent from the field, making 7-18 on their 3-point attempts. A big advantage came at the free throw line where NWU was 18-27, compared to 8-10 for the Gorloks. Josh Johnson, the SLIAC Player of the Year, scored 18 points to lead Webster. Rodson Etienne and Brown Jr each scored 15.
Four players reached double figures in scoring for the Prairie Wolves who played without leading scorer and A-R-C MVP Nate Schimonitz for a second straight game.
Reimers had a huge night with 29 points to set a new career-high in a NWU uniform. He was 9-14 from the field, 11-16 at the free throw line while pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out six assists playing all 40 minutes.
Nate Bahe scored 16 points and had a team-high eight assists to go along with six rebounds. Jack Hiller caught fire in the second half and ended the game with 14 points and eight rebounds, making four 3-point shots. Dylan Dirks also reached double figures with 12 points.
NWU now prepares for the second round against a nationally ranked team, the same scenario as last season when they were defeated at home by St. Thomas.