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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Austin Luger
Corbey R. Dorsey
76
Neb.-Kearney UNK 10-15,6-13 Mid-America Intercollegiate
78
Winner Central Mo. CentMo 12-11,9-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Neb.-Kearney UNK
10-15,6-13 Mid-America Intercollegiate
76
Final
78
Central Mo. CentMo
12-11,9-10 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Neb.-Kearney UNK 33 32 11 76
Central Mo. CentMo 33 32 13 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Mules Edge Lopers in OT

Kearney, Neb. – Division I transfers and redshirt seniors Ja'Cor Nelson and Cameron Hunter combined for 40 points and were big down the stretch to help Central Missouri edge Nebraska-Kearney in overtime, 78-76, Thursday night in Warrensburg.

The Mules improve to 12-11 (9-10 MIAA) and to 8-6 at home while the Lopers fall to 10-15 (6-13). UCM takes the season series to improve to 8-6 against the Lopers since 2013.

"We had seven more turnovers in the game and I think that was the telling stat," said UNK head coach Kevin Lofton on the KRVN radio post-game radio show. "We out-rebounded them but they made a couple more plays than we did."

Guard David Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) had a scintillating second half and over time, to the tune of 25 points, but missed a game-winning three at the end of regulation and a game-tying jumper at the end over time. He finished with 33 points, tying his season-high.  

In a game with 16 lead changes and 12 ties, UNK battled back from an eight-point half deficit to lead 60-59 with 4:41 remaining. After UCM grabbed the lead again, Simental sunk two freebies with 52 seconds left to knot things up at 65 and then the Lopers got a stop. But Simental's 28-foot contested three from the left wing found iron as the buzzer sounded.

"I'm really proud of the guys to be honest with you. We lost but you have to look how your guys competed and fought," said Lofton. "We just have to be resilient and find a way to bounce back Saturday."

UCM erased a 71-69 extra session deficit by getting three freebies from Hunter and a paint bucket from junior forward Gavin Pickney. That tied things at 74 with 49 seconds left. On Hunter's missed freebie, Nelson grabbed the o-board and that led to two more Hunter freebies and the game-winning points

"They disrupted us a bit with our motion offense but we still got opportunities and layups," said Lofton. "David got the sense (in the second half) he had to take over and he did that. He put us in position a coupe of times but we just weren't able to make a play or two."

Nelson, formerly of Campbell (S.C.) University, went for 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting. He played nearly 42 minutes and also grabbed 11 boards. A former North Dakota State Bison, Hunter got hot late on a series of drives and tallied 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in 35 minutes off the bench. Finally, Pinkley went for 16 points, seven boards and four steals.

Reaching 30 points for the fourth time this season, Simental ended up 10 of 28 (4 of 14 3's) from the field and 9 of 10 at the line. He went all 45 minuets and also had seven boards and three dimes. Next, Iowa redshirt junior guard Parker Badding had 16 points and three assists with Utah senior forward Darrian Nebeker at 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. He fouled out and logged 21 minutes of action.

"(At the end of regulation) David was dominating the game and we wanted to make sure he got the ball. We ran a play where we could get a back cut at the same time and they did a good job of disrupting that," said Lofton. "At that point, he had to try and make a play."

UNK heads to Lincoln (2-21, 1-17) on Saturday.
 
 
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