WAVERLY, Iowa – Nebraska Wesleyan overcame a 24-point deficit to cut it within four points late, but the rally came up short as Wartburg College defeated the Prairie Wolves 92-76 in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball opener on Wednesday night at Levick Arena.
 
The Prairie Wolves (5-1, 0-1 IIAC) were held 34 points under their season scoring average in the first loss of the year that also snaps their 11-game regular season winning streak.
 
Wartburg, who received votes in this weeks NCAA III Top 25 poll, remains undefeated at 6-0 and is off to their best start since the 2000-01 season.
 
NWU got off to a very slow start as they led 5-2, then gave up nine unanswered points.  The Prairie Wolves never got the offense going in the first half shooting only 38.5 percent and 2-8 from 3-point range to trail 48-31 at the break.

Wartburg continued to pour it on in the 2^nd half and built up their lead to 24 points just three minutes into the second half.  They maintained that large advantage for most of the second half, until NWU mounted a late rally.
 
Trailing by 19 points with 7:59, the Prairie Wolves outscored the Knights 20-4 over the next five minutes and cut the lead to four points at 78-74 with 4:05 remaining.  However the Prairie Wolves scored only one field goal the rest of the game as Wartburg sealed the win.
 
NWU was ice cold from 3-point range making only 6-26 from beyond the arc for 23.1 percent.  They shot only 37.3 percent from the floor as a team and also committed 23 turnovers.
 
Three players came off the bench to lead the Prairie Wolves in scoring.  Ryan Garver had a team-high 15 points with three steals and three rebounds, Aaron Walker had a career-high 13 points with five rebounds and Deion Wells-Ross scored 12 points.  Nate Schimonitz also was in double figures with 10 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
 
Wartburg shot 47.0 percent as a team and outrebounded NWU by five.  Jordan Cannon had a team-high 22 points for the Knights.
 
NWU will play their only home game during the month of December on Saturday when they host Buena Vista.