Kearney, Neb. – The Southwest Baptist Bearcats sunk 38 free throws and got big games from senior Logan Hovey and junior Marlon Alicndor to beat Nebraska-Kearney, 92-87, Thursday night in Bolivar, Mo.

The Bearcats (7-5, 2-2) win a sixth home game and improve to 5-0 all-time vs. UNK (6-8, 2-3) in the Meyer Sports Center. Those setbacks have come by a combined 23 points.

A choppy and physical affair, the hotly contested game featured 83 free throws. The Lopers shot 53 percent (17 of 32) in the first half, making six threes along the way, but trailed 49-47. One of the top offensive teams in the MIAA, SBU sunk five of its own triples and was an impressive 16 of 17 at the line.

Kearney led by three points five minutes into the second half but SBU came back and was ahead 81-77 with 3:44 remaining. The Lopers misfired on a triple attempt and that led to a bucket by Hovey, who came in averaging a team-best 21 points per game.

In the final 2:45, UNK had a turnover and missed two free throws. Despite that, SBU led 87-84 with 26 seconds left after senior Trey Lansman (Harlan, Ia.) made his last bucket of the night. Fittingly, the 'Cats closed things out by making five of six free throws.

"We've not had a lot of success down here … that's just the bottom line. Hats off to them. They made a ton of shots they had to make," said Loper head coach Kevin Lofton. "We talked all week about the three point shot. They came averaging 10 made threes per game and they had five in the first half. They didn't slow down in the second half. We also talked about their offensive rebounds. They average around 10 per game and had that total at the break."

UNK was 27 of 37 at the line (73 percent) and SBU 38 of 46 (83 percent). Three players fouled out with six others, including five Lopers, whistled for four fouls. 

Hovey had 14 of his team-high 23 points in the second half with Alcindor tallying 22. The 6-5 newcomer came averaging just over 12 a night. Three other 'Cats were in double figures with nine SBU players  scoring at least two points. Finally, SBU had a 45-26 rebounding advantage including 14-6 on the offensive glass. 

"We had some good stretches and had every opportunity to win. But we missed free throws and missed our share of wide open shots. They were making those same shots on the other end," said Lofton. "We've got to make plays down the stretch and we didn't do that."

For the Lopers, who ended the night with 10 made threes, Lansman went all 40 minutes and scored a game-high 29. Finishing 12 of 16 at the line and 8 of 18 from the field (1 of 6 threes), he also had 11 rebounds, a career-high seven assists, four blocks and three steals. This is his seventh double double of the year 

Fellow senior starters Ty Danielson (19) and Lane Rohrich (18) also were in double figures with junior Isaiah McKay coming off the bench to score 14 thanks to four threes.

"There was no flow to the game. They had seven or eight straight possession where they shot free throws. But you have to adjust and when you go to the line you have to capitalize," said Lofton. "I got really nervous as we were racking (fouls) up. Going into the game you have an idea about rotations and minutes but we had to ad lib a bit tonight."

UNK heads to Central Missouri Saturday afternoon. The Mules (11-2, 3-1) beat Fort Hays State, 81-66, tonight.