Kearney, Neb. – The Western New Mexico men's basketball team out scored Nebraska-Kearney 24-3 over the final five minutes to stun the Lopers, 87-79, Friday night in Silver City, N.M.

Western (6-12, 6-5 RMAC) stops a three-game losing streak and beats the Lopers (6-8, 4-5 RMAC) for a fourth straight season. The Mustangs have a deceiving record as they have played four games against Division I schools this year in Colorado, UTEP, New Mexico State and Sam Houston State (Texas).

UNK played this game a bit shorthanded as co-head coach Tom Kropp and junior wing Max Froehlich, the team's leading scorer on the season, stayed home due to illness. Also, sophomore post Drew Sankey missed his fourth straight game due a different illness.

Despite all this, the Lopers had a strong first half, erasing an early five point hole to open up a 47-26 lead right before the break. A steal and dunk by Western's Chad Carter was the only points in the final two minutes so the Lopers were up 19 at the break.

UNK shot 50 percent (18 of 36) from the field in the first half while Western, playing just its fifth home game, couldn't find the mark, making only 25 percent (10 of 39) of its shots. The Lopers also had a plus 11 rebounding margin

The Mustangs made an early run at the the Lopers in the second half, getting the large deficit down to six, 52-46, at the 14:19 mark. However, UNK responded and got its lead back to 15 points, 63-48, five minutes later.

During this 11-2 Loper spurt, neither team scored for nearly three minutes.

Kearney was seemingly in good position when junior forward Chris Deans (Hemingford) hit his third and final three of the night to make it 76-63 with 4:46 to play.

But, that's when the Mustangs got moving. They scored the game's next nine points to trail by four and, after two free throws by freshman Tim Billingsley (Parker, Colo.), tallied 15 unanswered to open up a nine point lead.

In the final 4:46, UNK had seven turnovers, leading to 14 Western points, and went 0-6 from the field.

The Mustangs shot only 37.5 percent on the night but got off 16 more shots, 80-64, than the Lopers. Western also won the battle on the glass, 48-46, including 18 offensive boards.

UNK finished with 19 turnovers, which led to 26 Western points. The Lopers also struggled a bit at the line, going 15 of 22 (682. pct.)

Freshman post Mike Dentlinger (Millard North) recorded his third double double of the season, having team-highs in points (22) and rebounds (12). Going 10 of 24 from the floor, he had 15 points and eight of his rebounds by intermission.

Billingsley also was hot early, having 12 points and seven rebounds by the break. He finished with 14 points and nine boards.

Before fouling out late, Deans had 15 points in 22 minutes with sophomore guard Akeem Morissaint (Delray Beach, Fla.) supplying 11 points, five rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes.

Four Mustangs reached double figures with Carter, a 6-6 sophomore, and junior guard TJ Riley, a transfer from Division I Lamar (Texas), each scoring 22.

The pair combined to score 32 of Western's 59 second half points. Carter also had a team-high 13 rebounds with Riley having a team-best five steals.

Finally, 6-8 senior post Chuck Kempf had 13 points and seven rebounds with reserve Andy Sohlich scoring 13 points in 22 minutes.

UNK is at New Mexico Highlands Saturday night.