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University of Nebraska - Kearney Athletics

Austin Luger
Corbey R. Dorsey
76
Winner Missouri Western MW 14-16,10-12 Mid-America Intercollegiate
74
Neb.-Kearney UNK 11-17,7-15 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Winner
Missouri Western MW
14-16,10-12 Mid-America Intercollegiate
76
Final
74
Neb.-Kearney UNK
11-17,7-15 Mid-America Intercollegiate
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Missouri Western MW 39 37 76
Neb.-Kearney UNK 40 34 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Griffons Hit the the Glass to Slip by the Lopers, 76-74

Kearney, Neb. – The Missouri Western State Griffons grabbed 18 offensive rebounds and got a huge effort from freshman wing Taye Fields to get past Nebraska-Kearney, 76-74, Friday night at the Health & Sports Center.

The Griffs (14-16, 10-12) will be an 8-10 seed in next week's MIAA Tournament in Kansas City while the Lopers end up at 11-17 (7-15). A young UNK squad finished the season 3-7 in games decided by 10 points or less with its last four setbacks coming by just a combined 22 points.

"Our kids battled like they have all year. The Missouri Southern and Fort Hays State losses (Jan. 20-22) were hard to swallow because we didn't play up to our potential. We just didn't play well at all but, from then on, I felt like we improved game-by-game-by game," said UNK head coach Kevin Lofton. "Unfortunately, we've had one too many of these types …. ones that could go either way. We didn't come out on the right side of those."

In a game with a ridiculous 21 lead changes, UNK had two chances to knot things up in the final minute. Down 74-71, a pass into the corner for a potential game-tying three sailed out of bounds with a contested three from the left wing by guard David Simental (Pueblo West, Colo.) hitting iron at the eight second mark. MWSU hit the subsequent two free throws with Simental finishing things up with a three from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded.

"We didn't do the job we needed to on the offensive boards. Just checking them out … they also got loose on us late in the game with some drives to the rim that hurt us," said Lofton. "Even then, we still had our chances on the last two possessions but it didn't work out for us."  2021-22 Lopers

The athletic Griffs grabbed nine o-boards in each half, leading to 17 second chance points. Standing 6-4 and averaging about six points per game, Fields exploded for a season-best 29 points and 10 rebounds. He finished 13 of 17 from the floor, had seven o-boards and 19 second half points. Back in January, he had 15 & 15 in an 81-79 loss to the Lopers. Overall, MWSU finished with 46 paint points as they used their quickness to get to the rack.

"Their offensive rebounds were huge and they also hurt us getting to the basket in the second half. That was it in a nutshell," said Lofton. "Some of it was fatigue … David and Parker went all 40 minutes and got a bit worn down. That created some opportunities for them to get to the basket."

On "Senior Night", UNK got out to a 14-5 lead and was up 40-39 at intermission. However, Mo West started the second half on an 11-4 run that featured seven points by Fields. The Lopers never led again but tied things up at 51, 59 and 65 all.

Per usual, Simental went all 40 minutes and had 24 points, five assists and four rebounds. He went 5 of 10 from behind the arc; UNK was 12 of 25 as a team to end the year with 259 makes. That is the fifth most in school-history. Next, Simental's 18.8 scoring average (526 total points) is the fifth highest by a Loper in the MIAA era (2013-present).

"We got better as a team as the year went along. We played our best basketball at the end but unfortunately this was the last game for us," said Lofton.

In their final collegiate games, Alliance forward Austin Luger and Iowa guard Parker Badding each tallied 17 as both hit three triples. Luger also had nine rebounds and six dimes with Badding going all 40 minutes. Finally, the Lopers out shot the Griffs by nearly 10 percentage points. 

Besides Fields heroics, forward Will Eames (11 points, seven rebounds & four assists) and guard JaQuaylon Mays (17 points, 10 rebounds & seven assists) had productive nights for Mo West. 

"Couldn't be prouder of how our team competed and conducted themselves. Our program philosophy is to create an atmosphere and an environment where players have a better chance to be successful in life because they were involved with our team," said Lofton. "We stress academics – we want them to graduate and get their degree. In seven years, including the three tonight, we'll have graduated 19 kids. We want them to become better personally and better basketball players. When you look at the strides Austin and Parker made in our program, its undeniable they reached their full-potential."
 
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Players Mentioned

Parker Badding

#12 Parker Badding

G
6' 2"
Sophomore
Austin Luger

#30 Austin Luger

F
6' 8"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Parker Badding

#12 Parker Badding

6' 2"
Sophomore
G
Austin Luger

#30 Austin Luger

6' 8"
Junior
F