Kearney, Neb. – The Western State men's basketball team shot 59 percent from the field and held off a late rally by Nebraska-Kearney to claim an 82-74 win over the Lopers Saturday night in Gunnison, Colo.

The Mountaineers (7-15, 6-11 RMAC) finished 2-0 on the weekend and beat UNK (8-13, 6-11 RMAC) for just the second time in the last 13 meetings between the two.

In building a lead as big as 22 points, Western became the third team in the last four games to make at least 57 percent of its field goals against the Loper defense. The 82 points is also a season-high for the Mountaineers.

On Friday, Mesa State shot 58.3 percent (28 of 48) with Colorado Christian coming in at 56.9 percent (29 of 51) on January 28th.

The Mountaineers led 40-34 at the break by sinking 15 of 26 shots (57.7 pct.) and then warmed up to 60.0 percent (12 of 20) in the final half. They came in at 58.7 pct. (27 of 46) for the game, including a 7 of 13 mark from beyond the arc.

UNK, who had a season-low 10 turnovers in the setback, trailed 57-35 with 14:08 to play and was still behind by double digits 10 minutes later. However, a three from junior wing Chris Deans (Hemingford) made it a 76-74 game with 2:02 left on the clock.

The play capped a 13-3 run that also featured triples from junior guard Michael Vandahl (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and senior forward Ben Klein (Plainview).

With 55 seconds to go, and with UNK having possession of the all, play was stopped due to a scoring error. After a long break, it was determined a point was missing for Western so suddenly it was a 77-74 contest.

UNK eventually missed a potential game tying three with 23 seconds to go and then a tip-in by senior Michael McLeod (Brownlee) didn't fall. The Mountaineers went 5 of 6 at the line to finish the scoring.

Four Western starters scored in double figures but reserve Joey Stukes led the way by scoring 17 on 4 of 4 field goal shooting and a 7 of 7 effort from the line.

Next, starting guard Weylan Towns had 10 points and seven assists with the other four starters also combining for 23 rebounds.

The Lopers made 42.2 percent (27 of 64) of its shots but that included a season-high 30 three point attempts with only 10 falling. Out rebounding Western 33-32, junior wing Max Froehlich (Pierce) scored a team-high 19 points on 6 of 15 shooting and by sinking 6 of 7 free throws.

The RMAC leader in assists per game also handed out a game-high eight dimes.  Finally, Froehlich is now the 39th player in UNK history to score 1,000 points in a career (currently 1,014).

Off the bench, sophomore guard Akeem Morissaint (Delray Beach, Fla.) made four threes to tally 12 points with Deans supplying 10 points and six boards in 25 minutes.

Regis and Metro State come to town next weekend.