Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney men's basketball team hopes to record its 20th win of the season when it battles Southwest Baptist Saturday afternoon in Bolivar, Mo.
The Lopers (19-8, 12-6) secured an MIAA Tournament first round bye after Central Oklahoma and Missouri Southern State lost on Thursday night. UNK will be either the second or third seed in next week's 12-team event; the bracket will be released Saturday night.
The SBU game tips at 3:30 p.m. and will be the third straight "Senior Night" game UNK has been a part of. Check the UNK
schedule page for media links.
SBU (14-13, 7-11) lost 59-55 to Fort Hays State on Thursday so the Bearcats are going to be the 11th seed in the MIAA tourney.
Since joining the conference, UNK has suffered a couple of crushing defeats in Bolivar. In 2013, SBU hit two free throws to go ahead 89-88 with a three seconds left. The Lopers raced down the court and made an apparent three from the top of the key. However, the shot was about a tenth of a second too late and didn't count.
The next season, SBU won 96-93 as they built up a 17-point second half lead before UNK stormed back. However, another three at the buzzer didn't fall and the Lopers took the loss. Finally, in December 2015, the 'Cats won 70-60 as UNK played without an injured
Ethan Brozek. UNK did lead 49-48 with five minutes to go but SBU closed hard.
Earlier this winter, UNK beat SBU 79-65 as junior
Trey Lansman (Harlan, Ia.) went for 22 and sophomore
Isaiah McKay (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) tallied 20. The Lopers trailed 38-25 at the break but outscored SBU 44-27 in the second half.
Southwest, now 10-6 in the Meyer Sports Center, is led by junior Logan Hovey (6-6, 225 lbs.) and senior post Brian Patterson (6-8, 230 lbs.). The duo combine for 23 points and 10 rebounds per game; they went for 28 & 9 in the setback at the Health & Sports Center.
Nine others average 10 or more minutes per game, including three point shooter Kai Woodfall (7.7 ppg) and senior guard Cartree Pettis (5.9 ppg).
Trying to improve to 6-5 in true road games and post a third straight win away from home, UNK is looking to record the program's 25th 20-win season.
The Lopers continue to be among Division II's best and busiest free throw shooting teams, coming in at 79% and averaging 19.8 makes per game. SBU actually has more attempts than UNK but converts just 68% of the time.
Besides not wanting to foul the Lopers, the 'Cats will also have an eye on McKay and junior
Ty Danielson (York). McKay, shooting 45% from the three point line on the year, is averaging 19 points over the last four games while Danielson is averaging 18 in his last five.
Finally, Lansman continues to have an All-American season, now with eight double doubles and 11 games of 20 or more points. He is at 19.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 80% at the line and 50% from the floor.
