LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Wesleyan led by as many as 49 points in the second half and easily defeated Mount Marty College 97-62 in GPAC men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 2) at Snyder Arena in Lincoln.

NWU did not show any signs of rust after their two-week layoff for the holidays.  The Prairie Wolves roared out to a 29-7 lead with just over 10 minutes to play and cruised to their biggest margin of victory during the 2015-16 season.

All 19 Prairie Wolves that suited up saw at least three minutes of action on the court and had 13 different players score in the win.  Nebraska Wesleyan led 76-27 with 13:31 remaining as the Prairie Wolves opened the second half on a 20-7 run.  NWU led 56-20 at halftime.

The Prairie Wolves improve to 9-3 overall and 5-2 in GPAC play to move into a tie for 2nd place in the league standings.  They are tied with Hastings, who will be the next opponent for NWU on Wednesday night.

NWU shot 52.2 percent from the floor for the game and 44.4 percent from 3-point range.  The Prairie Wolves were 16-36 from long range, making ten in the first half.

The NWU pressure defense forced Mount Marty into 28 total turnovers, as the Prairie Wolves scored 53 points off turnovers.

Trey Bardsley and Travis Giesselmann each scored 20 points to lead the Prairie Wolves.  Bardsley was 6-10 from 3-point range and had a team-high seven rebounds with five assists.  Keithan Karn was 4-8 from 3-point range for 14 points and Nick Stine came off the bench to score 10 points as the fourth NWU player in double figures.  Stine was a perfect 4-4 from the floor and 2-2 from long range.

Blake Ruiz dished out five assists without any turnovers, as NWU had 25 total assists on the day. 

This sets up the big game for NWU at Hastings at Lynn Farrell Arena in a battle between teams tied for second place.  Hastings has won five straight games, including three over ranked teams.