DUBUQUE, Iowa – A poor shooting first half dug the Nebraska Wesleyan men's basketball team too deep of a deficit to overcome as the Prairie Wolves dropped a 89-83 decision on the road at the University of Dubuque on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 11).
 
With the loss, the Prairie Wolves fall to 16-7 and 10-5 in IIAC play to now sit in third place in the league standings.  NWU has just one conference game remaining next Saturday at Loras College, who is ahead of them in the standings.
 
NWU didn't have an answer for the Spartan 2-3 zone defense as the 3-point shooting was ice cold despite the unusually warm temperatures outside.  The Prairie Wolves made 2-20 from beyond the arc in the first half.  Not only were the Wolves missing from outside, then couldn't get any offensive rhythm in the first half.
 
A layup from Nate Schimonitz tied the game at 20-20 with 8:14 left in the half.  From there, Dubuque went on a 13-0 run as the Prairie Wolves had a scoring drought of 6:45.  It was the second straight game the high scoring NWU offense had a scoring drought of over six minutes.  The Spartans held a 35-24 lead at halftime as NWU shot 28.3 percent from the field and 10.0 percent on 3-pointers.
 
Only three NWU players scored points in the first half with Cooper Cook scoring the first 12 points of the game.  Schimonitz and Deion Wells-Ross were the only other players that scored in the first 20 minutes.
 
In the second half, the Prairie Wolves were much more efficient and made a big push for the comeback victory.  Dubuque built up an early 17 point second half lead, then NWU started chipping away.
 
Twice NWU got the lead down to six points in the final five minutes.  Both times the Prairie Wolves got within six, the Spartans answered with a 3-pointer to go right back up by nine.  After cutting the lead to 81-74 with 3:14, the Prairie Wolves got a much needed stop.  On the other end NWU missed a 3-pointer that would have made it a four point game.  Dubuque scored on the other end to end the major threat.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan was red hot from 3-point range in the 2^nd half making 12-23 from 3-point range and 22-42 from the floor.  They ended the game at 40.7 percent overall and 14-43 on 3-pointers.
 
Nate Schimonitz had a huge second half to end the with a team-high 23 points.  He made four 3-pointers in the 2^nd half, including three straight possessions.  He also had eight rebounds with four assists.
 
Cooper Cook ended the game with 20 points and a team-high nine rebounds.  Cook also made four 3-pointers on the day.  Jack Hiller was 5-10 on 3-pointers to finish with 19 points.  Deion Wells-Ross also scored double figures with 14 points.
 
Dubuque also made 14 3-pointers on the day to match the total of the Prairie Wolves.  The biggest stat difference came at the free throw line where the Spartans outscored NWU by 14 points.  Dubuque was 17-26 at the free throw line, compared to just 3-4 for the Prairie Wolves.
 
Two Spartans posted double-doubles led by Jamaree Atwater with 27 points and 10 rebounds.  Jake Weber had 10 points and 17 rebounds.
 
NWU will step out of conference on Tuesday to host Kansas Christian for Senior Day.  Then NWU will have a huge matchup at Loras College next Saturday in Dubuque, Iowa that could decide the IIAC Championship and who will receive a first round bye in the postseason tournament.