LINCOLN, Neb. -- Nebraska Wesleyan exploded for 61 points in the 2nd half as the Prairie Wolves picked up an important 96-83 victory over Concordia University on Wednesday night (Feb. 3) in GPAC men's basketball action at Snyder Arena.

NWU trailed 39-35 at halftime after shooting just 30.8 percent in the first half.  The Prairie Wolves caught fire in the second half as they shot 57.6 percent from the floor and 53.3 percent from long range in the final 20 minutes.  NWU outscored Concordia 61-44 in the second half.

With the victory, Nebraska Wesleyan improved to 15-6 overall and 10-5 in GPAC play.  The 15 victories equals the highest win total since the 2000-01 season.  Concordia falls to 15-10, 7-9 in GPAC as they have their four-game winning streak snapped.

Junior point guard Max Cook scored a career-high 14 points, all in the 2nd half as a big spark for the Prairie Wolves to get an additional scorer.  Cook was 3-4 from 3-point range and used pressure defense to force three steals.

NWU took over the lead at 48-47 on a layup from Trey Bardsley with 16:22 left in the 2nd half, then Cook stole the in-bounds pass and converted a layup to put the Prairie Wolves up three points in a quick turn of events.  NWU would not trail again as that sparked the team.

Concordia trailed by six points with just under 11 minutes to play, but back-to-back layups from Blake Ruiz gave NWU a double-digit advantage.  The Bulldogs did get back within five points with 4:11 remaining, but Cook drained a 3-pointer and that was all NWU needed.

Leading scorer Trey Bardsley got back on track for the Prairie Wolves as he scored a game-high 29 points.  Bardsley was 6-13 from 3-point range and also dished out six assists.  Travis Giesselmann was 6-20 from the floor and finished with 18 points.  He had a team-high eight assists and was key in finding open teammates for 3-pointers.

Cooper Cook scored 15 points with six rebounds off the bench and Max Cook had his 14 points as four NWU players were in double figures.

NWU finished the game at 43.1 percent from the floor and 39.0 percent from 3-point range making 16-41.  NWU needs just three more 3-pointers to break a new school record.

Chandler Folkerts led Concordia with another double-double of 27 points and 14 rebounds.  All five starters scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, but they were outscored 26-6 off the bench.

NWU is now set for a GPAC showdown on Saturday against 13th-ranked Dakota Wesleyan at the Corn Palace.  DWU is half a game ahead of NWU for 2nd place in the league standings.