LINCOLN, Neb. -- For the first time since joining the conference, the Nebraska Wesleyan men's basketball team swept Morningside College in the season series as they defeated the Mustangs 111-97 on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 16) at Snyder Arena.  NWU won the first meeting 102-94 in Sioux City in December.

The Prairie Wolves, winners of 10 of their last 12 games, now have sole possession of 2nd place in the GPAC standings with a 8-3 conference record.  They are 12-4 overall.

NWU got their 3-point shooting going early as the Prairie Wolves knocked down 10 in the first half to build up a 55-41 lead at the break. 

The Prairie Wolves came out hitting on all cylinders to start the second half.  NWU scored on the first five possessions, including three 3-pointers during that stretch to open up a 26 point lead less than two minutes into the half.

NWU would get up by as many as 27 points in the second half.  However, just like the previous game against Doane, they didn't continue to build on the lead and led Morningside rally back.

The Mustangs trailed 91-72 with just under nine minutes remaining in the game.  They scored nine straight points over the next three minutes and cut the lead down to 10 points.  NWU maintained the double digit lead until Ryan Tegtmeier hit a 3-pointer with 3:33 remaining to cut the lead to eight.  A miss on the other end gave Morningside the ball and Tegtmeier hit a jump shot to cut the lead to six points at 101-95 with 2:09 remaining.

This time, NWU did not fold and Trey Bardsley scored six straight points to put NWU back up double digits and seal the victory.

After being held to his lowest scoring total in two years, Bardsley bounced back with a season-high 38 points on Saturday.  He tied his career-high by knocking down nine 3-pointers (9-13).  Most of the damage was done in the second half as he scored 30 of his 38 points in the final 20 minutes.  Bardsley also tied for the team-lead with eight rebounds, while dishing out six assists.

Travis Giesselmann had another stellar stat line with 27 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.  Keithan Karn was the other NWU player in double figures with 11 points.

The Prairie Wolves made 20-43 from 3-point land and shot 51.4 percent from the floor.  They also drastically improved at the free throw line making 17-19 as a team.

Morningside had four players score in double figures, led by Tegtmeier with 23.  Bryce Koch scored 22 points as the Mustangs shot 50.8 percent from the field.

NWU will step out of conference play on Monday night to face Westminster College in Fulton, Mo.