February 29, 2008

Men's Basketball Hits 14 Three to Advance

Lopers 11th Win By Eight Points or Less

     Kearney, Neb. – Freshman guards Garrett Lever and Jeremy Cruise combined for 45 points and the Nebraska-Kearney men's basketball team hit 14 three pointers to edge Mesa State, 79-73, Friday night at the Health & Sports Center.

      A first round RMAC Tournament game, UNK (16-12) now advances to the semifinals next Friday (March 7^th) in Pueblo, Colo. The second-seeded Lopers will play third-seed Colorado Christian, 79-69 winner over Metro State tonight, at 5:00 p.m. Central.

      Mesa State, mean while, ends the year at 13-14.

      After making 12 of 29 three point shots Saturday in a win over Colorado-Colorado Springs, the Lopers upped the ante tonight by pretty much relying on the perimeter shot to improve to 14-0 all-time in RMAC first round games.

      In building a 32-25 half time lead, UNK was 7 of 10 from behind the arc, including a 4 of 4 effort from Cruise, a lefty walk on from St. Edward. The Lopers made only one of its first five three point shots to start the second half but sunk three in a 45 second span to open up a 51-39 lead at the 11:32 mark.

      The first two came from sophomore Drake Bernaek, then last from sophomore Jeff Martin (Bellevue West) on a fast break that brought the crowd to its feet and forced Mesa to called timeout.

      However, the Mavericks were dominant inside all night, out scoring the Lopers 54-20 in the paint and holding a 40-25 advantage on the glass. Slowly chipping away, Mesa trailed by just four points, 75-71, with 54 seconds left after a layup by Jake Swartzendruber.

      The Loper lead then dwindled to two after Ryan Mathews stole the ball and Swartendruber rebounded his missed layup and made another inside shot.

      UNK finally nailed the coffin shut when two Lever free throws pushed the back to four and a three from Mesa's Danny Renneisen missed the mark with 27 seconds left. Two Cruise free throws followed to finish the scoring.

      The Lopers finished the game 14 of 24 (58.3 percent) from three point land with the Mavs going just one of eight from down town. After making only three two point shots in the first half, UNK did make 10 shots inside the arc over the final 20 minutes.

      Lever (Phoenix, Ariz.), the RMAC Freshman and Defender of the Year, scored 24 points, handed out five assists and had two steals in playing all 40 minutes. Also the Division II leader in steals per game (3.7), Lever's point total was one off his season high.

      Cruise finished with 21 points on 5 of 8 three point shooting. Also logging 40 minutes, this marked his second straight game of 20 or more points.

      Beranek (Ravenna) had 16 points and 10 rebounds to record his 13^th double double of the year. He also had team highs in assists (six) and was the third Loper to play the entire game.

      For Mesa, Swartzendruber made 9 of 10 shots to score a team-high 18 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds in 20 minutes work.