December 7, 2004

Men’s Basketball Gets by Hastings

Levinson Has Career Effort

            Kearney, Neb. –   Grand Island senior Marty Levinson had a career-high 20 points, all in the second half, and junior Chris Dean added a double double to lead the Nebraska-Kearney men’s basketball team to a 93-75 win over Hastings Tuesday night at the Health & Sports Center.

            UNK improves to 3-2 while the NAIA Broncos fall to 2-10 on the year.

            While the Lopers led nearly the entire game, Hastings never got too far behind. UNK had 13 turnovers in the first half, 19 for the game, and struggled at the free throw line once again, making just 7 of 17 shots (41.2 percent).

            UNK got the victory thanks to its superior size. The Lopers out rebounded Hastings, 40-27, and out scored the Broncos 50-20 in the paint. The blue and gold also had 17 second chance points thanks to 12 offensive rebounds.

            Levinson, who redshirted last year after, was 7 of 12 from the field after halftime, including a 5 of 8 effort from the three point line.

            He also had seven assists and three rebounds in the game. His previous career high of 19 points came at Adams State in January 2003.

            Dean (LaVerne, Calif.) had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 28 minutes. He was 8 of 10 from the field and also had three assists.

            Three straight buckets in the paint capped a 10-0 spurt that gave UNK a 17-9 lead with 13:13 to go in the first half. Hastings kept the lead under double digits, however, closing within two, 31-29, on a free throw at the 2:04 mark.

            The Lopers got a boost when Colorado sophomore James Lane nailed a three pointer as the first half buzzer sounded, giving UNK a 38-31 lead.

            Levinson hit the first of his five three pointers to give UNK a 52-36 lead with just under 16 minutes to play. The lead stayed in double digits for the next 10 minutes before two Bronco free throws made the score 73-64. 

            Back-to-back triples by Levinson and a layup by senior Will Taukiuvea (Salt Lake City, Utah) quickly got the lead up to 17 points, 83-66, just two minutes later.

            Columbus native Dusty Jura had 17 points and eight rebounds while Taukiuvea finished with nine points and six steals.

            Brad Toepfer led Hastings with 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting. McCook sophomore Krae Dutoit had all 19 of his points in the second half, going 7 of 8 from the floor.

            UNK hosts Colorado State-Pueblo Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.