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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Sean Evans
Corbey R. Dorsey
64
Newman Newman 3-7,0-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
79
Winner Neb.-Kearney UNK 5-5,1-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Newman Newman
3-7,0-5 Mid-America Intercollegiate
64
Final
79
Neb.-Kearney UNK
5-5,1-3 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Newman Newman 29 35 64
Neb.-Kearney UNK 40 39 79

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Lopers Keep the Jets at Bay, 79-64

Kearney, Neb. – Point guard David Simental scored 26 points and dished out nine assists to help Nebraska-Kearney hold off Newman, 79-64, Friday night at the Health & Sports Center.

UNK (5-5, 1-3) climbs back to the .500 mark with the Jets, from Wichita, falling for a fifth straight time to be at 3-7 (0-5). The two will meet again Feb. 5 in Kansas.

"It kind of was a Jekyl and Hide game. We found a way to be up by seven…they really came out and fought hard. We showed some good signs in the first half, struggled a little bit but were up seven," said UNK head coach Kevin Lofton. "We came out (in the second half) and spurted on them. But just when you started to feel comfortable they got loose in transition and we didn't communicate very well."

The MIAA's top shooting team at 49.9 percent, UNK did exactly that in the first half as it made 15 of 30 shots (6 of 14 threes) to grab a 40-29 lead. The Lopers out scored the Jets 16-8 over the final five minutes with Alliance senior Austin Luger and Iowa junior Parker Badding hitting a pair of threes. David Simental

Both teams were a bit cold to start the second half but another Luger triple made it 54-34 with 13:02 to play. Kearney finished 11 of 26 from the long line, the fourth time this year with a double digit triple total.

But the Jets didn't go quietly as they started to attack the basket, ramped up the defensive pressure and took advantage of some Loper foul trouble to go on a run. UNK went nearly six minutes without a field goal and led by just a 59-54 score at the 6:50 mark. That's when Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) took over, hitting two free throws to push the lead to seven and then sunk back-to-back threes to get the lead almost back to 20 points at 73-55 a few minutes later.  

"They are a team that likes to drive it and we had David out there with three fouls, Sean Evans out there with three fouls. Those are our primary ball handlers. They are smart and driving it at those guys, driving it at our bigs," said Lofton. "David really stepped up, took the game over and helped us get back into a little bit of a comfort zone."

Reaching 20 points for the third time as a Loper, Simental went 8 of 14 from the field (4 of 8 threes) and 6 of 6 at the line. He had 17 points in the second half and added five defensive rebounds and two steals over 38 minutes. Finally, he drew a game-high nine fouls. Next, Luger tallied 14 & 8 with Utah senior forward Darrian Nebeker at 10 & 9. The pair both grabbed seven defensive boards and made five field goals. Off the bench, Badding had a nine first half points with Wahoo junior Winston Cook at seven and New Zealand freshman Sean Murphy providing four points, three boards and two assists.

"Huge game by David, Austin hit a couple of key threes for us to help us spurt and build the lead in the second half, Winston hit a couple of mid-range jumpers," said Lofton.

The nation's leading free throw shooter, NU freshman guard Stevie Strong, missed his first freebie of the year (now 31 of 32) but finished with a game-high 24 points. He was 8 of 22 (2 of 12 threes) from the floor and drew six fouls. Guard Ian Lee had 12 of his 15 points in the second half to be the other Jet in double figures.

Central Oklahoma comes to Buckle Court on Sunday at 3 p.m. The Bronchos are now 8-2 (4-1) after a 77-60 win at nationally-ranked Fort Hays State tonight.
 
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