Box Score Kearney, Neb. – The Western State men's basketball team shook off a slow start thanks to a 15-0 second half run to rally past Nebraska-Kearney, 74-66, Sunday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.

The game was pushed back a day due to the winter storm that hit Nebraska this weekend.  

UNK (12-8, 10-7 RMAC) was a man down as starting point guard Quinston Reggins (Houston, Texas) couldn't go due to a right wrist injury sustained Friday night in the win over Colorado Mesa.

Without Reggins, UNK committed 18 turnovers, leading to 26 points for the Mountaineers.  The 18 turnovers are the most for the Lopers since having 18 in a December 30th loss at Adams State.

To earn its first win in Kearney since 1998, Western (10-11, 8-9 RMAC) overcame a 19-6 deficit by turning to 6-8, 310 lbs. senior post Charles Joseph.

The New York native grabbed eight rebounds, and went 7 of 10 from the floor, in the first half as Western went into the locker down by just a 32-26 score.

In the second half, UNK built its lead back to 11 points but the rest of the Mountaineers started to heat up.  Making 57.1% (16 of 28) of its shots in the final 20 minutes, Western saw Travis Shepherd (11) and Alex Hart (10) join Joseph (10) as double digit scorers after the break.

Despite the turnovers and the presence of Joseph inside, UNK led 53-46 with 7:24 to go. However, Western scored the game's next 15 points, the final three on a triple by Shepherd with 3:31 to play.  

During this stretch, the Lopers had four turnovers and went 0 of 2 from the field. UNK didn't get the deficit under three points the rest of the way as Western finished the day 17 of 22 at the line.

Joseph ended with 26 points and 14 rebounds on 9 of 14 shooting with Shepherd hitting three triples in the second half to score all 11 of his points. Next, Hart had 14 points and seven boards and guard Steven Aldridge tallied eight of his 10 points in the second half.

The Lopers shot a decent 45.8% (27 of 59) from the field but were just 6 of 23 (26.1%) from the three point line. They also attempted only eight free throws, making six of them.

Sophomore post Mike Dentlinger (Millard North) drove around Joseph, and hit a few jumpers, to finish with a team-high 23 points. Making 10 of 14 shots, he also had seven rebounds and two assists. 

Four other Lopers tallied between eight and nine points, including sophomore guard Tim Billingsley (Parker, Colo.).

UNK heads to Regis and nationally-ranked Metro State next weekend.