DECORAH, Iowa – Nebraska Wesleyan used a 32-5 run in the first half to build up a double digit halftime lead and the Prairie Wolves rolled to a 88-65 road victory over Luther College in IIAC men's basketball play Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) in Decorah, Iowa.
With the victory the Prairie Wolves improve to 13-5 overall and 7-3 in IIAC play to move into a tie for 2
nd place in the league standings. NWU will face IIAC leader Buena Vista on Monday night in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Luther College, who falls to 2-15, 0-19 in IIAC, jumped out to a 15-3 lead over the Prairie Wolves as NWU was very sluggish to start the game. The Prairie Wolves didn't get a second made field goal until over seven minutes into the first half.
Once NWU got going, they never stopped turning a 15-3 deficit into a 35-20 lead with 3:40 remaining in the half. The main reason for the big run was the excellent 3-point shooting by NWU. The Prairie Wolves went 10-13 from 3-point range in the first half, led by
Cooper Cook who had five 3-pointers and 19 points. Cook was the only NWU starter that scored in the first half.
Nebraska Wesleyan also dominated on the glass in the first 20 minutes, with a 26-6 advantage in rebounding. The Prairie Wolves ended the game with 43 total rebounds, compared to only 20 for Luther.
As hot as NWU was shooting from the field in the first half, they were even better in the second half. Nebraska Wesleyan missed just seven shots in the second half, going 14-21 from the field. They ended the game at 61.2 percent from the field and 12-19 from 3-point range. NWU also had a season-best performance at the free throw line making 16-17.
Cook finished the game with 26 points to lead the way for the Prairie Wolves. He was 5-8 from 3-point range and 9-15 from the floor.
Deion Wells-Ross provided a double-double scoring 16 points with 12 rebounds off the bench. The other NWU player in double figures was
Ryan Garver who scored 13 points.
Luther shot only 35.9 percent from the field as they dropped their 15
th straight IIAC game.
