Box Score Kearney, Neb. – Sophomore guard Isaiah McKay made a career-high five three pointers and Nebraska-Kearney used a 12-0 second half run to grind out a win over Northeastern State, 81-73,  Saturday evening at the Health & Sports Center.
 
This was "Senior Day" at UNK and the Lopers honored guard Kevin Dineen (Creighton Prep H.S.) prior to the opening tip. With the win, Kearney improves to 17-7 (10-5) to be in sole possession of third place in the MIAA standings.
 
Northeastern (3-20, 2-13), now on a 10-game skid, used a patient offense, some good defense and a  surprising rebounding margin to lead for seven minutes of the first half. However, a last second triple from McKay (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) gave UNK a 35-34 lead at the break.
 
The Lopers seemingly were in control of things when they started the second half on a 14-4 run. During this stretch, the RiverHawks went 1 of 7 from the field and committed three of its 11 turnovers.
 
UNK led 52-40 at the 12-minute mark but NSU roared back, tying things at 54 on a layup from reserve Javon Wallace with 8:10 play. A McKay three gave the lead back to the Lopers but the 'Hawks used a bucket from reserve Romone Adderley and a free throw from starter Erik Broadnax to tie things up once more.
 
That's when UNK delivered the knockout punch, scoring the next 12 points as McKay and junior forward Trey Lansman (Harlan, Ia.) sunk triples. On the day, Kearney was 9 of 22 from downtown.
 
McKay finished with a game-high 19 points on 6 of 13 (5 of 11 threes) shooting. He also grabbed a career-best eight rebounds, seven coming at the defensive end.
 
"Over the last three or four games, Isaiah has made some big threes for us at key times," said Loper head coach Kevin Lofton. "He also isn't afraid to stick his nose in there and get some rebounds."
 
Lansman didn't attempt a single shot in the first half but ended with 17 points thanks to 7 of 8 free throw shooting. York junior guard Ty Danielson also was busy at the charity stripe (12 of 14) to tally 18.
 
Finally, Chicago junior point guard Yashua Trent had eight points and six assists with Iowa sophomore forward Carter Burns having 11 of UNK's 12 bench points. And in a starting role, Dineen supplied seven points, an assist and defensive rebound in 13 minutes.
 
"Kevin has been a shining example of what kind of player we want in our program. He has a great attitude and work ethic and those are two things you can control every day, no matter what you're doing," said Lofton. "When he's gotten opportunities to get on the floor, he plays a style that everyone respects."
 
NSU got 38 bench points and saw 11 different players reach the scoring column. Starters Karon Waller (15) and Braxton Williams (10) led the way.
 
UNK's final four regular season games are on the road, starting Thursday night at Central Oklahoma.