ST. PAUL, Minn. – Nebraska Wesleyan scored 13 unanswered points to start the second half to break open a tie game and the Prairie Wolves would never trail again as NWU defeated University of Northwestern (MN) 78-67 on Saturday afternoon to close out the Twin Cities Classic.
 
NWU improves to 2-0 to start the 2017-18 season by defeating an Eagles team that has qualified for seven straight NCAA III National Tournaments.
 
The Prairie Wolves led by two points 37-35 at halftime as they had to overcome an early 12 points deficit.  Northwestern jumped ahead quick on their home floor.  The Eagles led 21-9 with just over 10 minutes remaining before halftime.
 
NWU erased the deficit by using a 12-0 run to pull even and eventually take the lead before halftime.
 
In the second half, Northwestern tied the game with a basket to start the half, then NWU scored 13 straight points to take a 50-37 lead.  Northwestern would climb back within one point at 64-63 with 3:23 remaining but two straight baskets by Cooper Cook put the Prairie Wolves back up by five.  NWU did get back up by ten points late to seal the win.
 
Cooper Cook and Jack Hiller each had 19 points to lead the Prairie Wolves scoring as they had three players reach double figures.  Ryan Garver was the other NWU player to score in double figures with 13 points.
 
Deion Wells-Ross had a team-high 13 rebounds with four assists.  As a team, NWU shot 43.3 percent from the field making 8-28 on 3-pointers.
 
Taylor Slagter had 15 points for Northwestern as they had four players score in double figures.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan returns to action making their home debut over Thanksgiving weekend as they host the 29^th Annual Snyder Classic.