February 1, 2005

Men's Basketball Wins at the Buzzer

Lopers Score Five Points in Final Eight Seconds

            Kearney, Neb. –  Bellevue senior Marty Levinson stole the ball and made a layup with 1.5 seconds remaining to lift the Nebraska-Kearney men's basketball team to an improbable 86-84 win over Wayne State Tuesday night at the Health & Sports Center.

            UNK (15-4) has won four in a row while the Wildcats (7-12) hard luck season continues. They've dropped three straight by a combined five points and are 1-5 in games decided by five points or less this year.

            Wayne appeared on the verge of winning in Kearney for the first time since the 1996-97 when they went to the free throw line with 35 seconds to go and ahead 84-81.

            The 'Cats were a perfect 18 for 18 at the charity stripe but Derek Archer, making 86 percent of his free throws on the year, saw both his shots roll out of the bucket, giving UNK a chance to tie.

            The Lopers called a timeout with 20 seconds remaining but some tough Wayne defense didn't allow UNK to get a good look at the basket.

            With the shot clock winding down and the game clock at about nine seconds, Colorado Springs sophomore Chad Burger (12 points) launched about a 23 footer that hit nothing but nylon.

            After a Wayne timeout, the 'Cats were bringing the ball up the right side of the court when Levinson stole the ball out of the hands of Dusty Smith. Levinson (15 points, five assists) quickly picked up the ball and made the game winning shot.

            After a 'Cat timeout, Brett Cain's three from about 30 feet would've counted but was a good foot off the mark.

            Wayne led most of the night thanks to torrid three point shooting by Archer and Smith, who each went 5 of 8 from downtown. The 'Cats finished the game 12 of 25 from behind the arc (48 percent) while the Lopers were only 6 of 16 (38 percent).

            UNK had five players in double figures, led by Columbus sophomore Dusty Jura with 19. He was 8 of 14 from the floor and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

            California junior Chris Dean had 13 points and seven boards, Utah senior Will Taukiuvea added 12 while Litchfield junior Matt Kucera had seven points and two rebounds coming off the bench.

            Only six 'Cats scored on the night but all reached double figures. Smith and Cain each tallied 17 while Archer had 15 off the bench.

            UNK held a slight edge in field goal percentage (56 to 48) and rebounds (31-28) while forcing 21 turnovers.