LINCOLN, Neb. -- Semifinal Saturday in Snyder Arena was a day to remember for Nebraska Wesleyan University men's basketball as the Prairie Wolves advanced to the GPAC Tournament game and clinched a spot at the NAIA II National Tournament with a 102-91 victory over 18th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan in the GPAC Tournament semifinals.

Senior Trey Bardsley put on a show for the large crowd that jammed into Snyder Arena as he lit up the Tigers with a career-high 55 points.  Bardsley set a new school record making 11-18 from 3-point land and also set the single season scoring record passing Dana Janssen.

The game lived up to its billing as a clash of offensive jugernauts.  20th-ranked NWU and DWU traded offensive punches in the first half, but it was the Prairie Wolves that fed off the partisan crowd in key situations. 

Bardsley got his big day started early hitting three 3-pointers within the first three minutes as he makes a push to earn league MVP honors.  Dakota Wesleyan's Jade Miller was just as hot early for the Tigers as he scored 16 first half points, including four made 3-pointers.

DWU led by as many as six points in the first half with over seven minutes remaining before the break.   A 3-pointer by Trevor Leiting and seven straight points by Bardsley put the Prairie Wolves back up by four points and they never trailed again.  Nebraska Wesleyan got a layup under the basket by Blake Ruiz at the buzzer to enter the locker room with a 47-40 halftime lead.

Both teams were shooting well in the first half, as DWU hit 55.2 percent from the floor, but the Tigers were outrebounded by eight in the first half.  Bardsley scored 24 points for the Prairie Wolves in the first half as they shot exactly 50 percent as a team.

NWU got the lead up to double digits early in the second half as Travis Giesselmann hit a fast break 3-pointer to bring the crowd to its feet and force DWU to take a timeout trailing 60-49.

The Tigers did not go away as they proved why they are one of the top 20 teams in the nation.  Dakota Wesleyan used a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 77-74 with 9:08 remaining.  After the made shot, Bardsley promptly came down the court and drained a 3-pointer to go up by six points and start a 9-0 run for the Prairie Wolves.  Four straight Bardsley free throws gave NWU a 12-point cushion with 7:34 remaining. 

DWU didn't recover as they never pulled back within single digits and the Snyder Arena crowd rose to their feet to give the players a salute and standing ovation.

Bardsley's record setting performance was one for the ages in his final game at Snyder Arena.  He scored a career-high 55 points, the second highest scoring game in NWU history.   His previous career-high was 48 points, a total that has hit twice.  Bardsley was 11-18 from 3-point range and a perfect 12-12 at free throw line.  He also had five rebounds, three assists and three steals in 40 minutes of action.  His 55 points is the third best single game performance in all of college basketball this season.  The top game was 60 points by a NCAA III player at Ozarks.  The NWU school record is 62 points by Rudy Stoehr in 1959.

Travis Giesselmann scored 18 points and led NWU with nine rebounds and six assists.  Cooper Cook also had double figures with 12 points.

Nebraska Wesleyan won their 9th straight game and improves to 22-6 overall.

Dakota Wesleyan was led by Jade Miller with 32 points on 6-10 from 3-point land.  Trae Vandeberg scored 30 points on 8-12 from 3-point range.

Nebraska Wesleyan now will travel to Sioux City, Iowa on Tuesday night to face top-seeded Briar Cliff for the GPAC Men's Basketball Championship game, presented by Rawlings.  Since Briar Cliff has already earned one of the automatic bids to the NAIA II National Tournament, NWU also secured an automatic bid by making it to the championship game.  Tip-off between the Prairie Wolves and Chargers is set for 7 pm.