DUBUQUE, Iowa  – Nebraska Wesleyan earned a share of the IIAC men's basketball regular season championship as the Prairie Wolves went on the road in a hostile environment to defeat Loras College 101-94 on Saturday afternoon in Dubuque, Iowa.
 
The win makes the Prairie Wolves co-champions with Loras College as both teams ended with 11-5 IIAC records.  NWU wins the tie-breaker scenario and earns the No. 1 seed in the IIAC Postseason Tournament that begins next week.  The Prairie Wolves will host the winner of Simpson College-Central College on Thursday night (Feb. 23) at Snyder Arena at 7 pm.
 
It was a wild atmosphere on Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Wellness Center on the campus of Loras College as the two teams battled for the conference championship.  In the first half, the two teams saw the lead change 16 times with the teams trading punches back and forth.  NWU got a basket by Trevor Leiting at the buzzer to go into the locker room with a 46-45 lead.
 
NWU came out firing in the second half as they opened the half on a 11-0 run to take a 57-45 lead with 16:12 remaining.  The Prairie Wolves maintained the lead for the next eight minutes, when Loras finally tied the game at 73-73 with 8:04 remaining.  A pair of Duhawk free throws gave Loras their first lead of the second half with 5:41 to play at 80-79.
 
That would be the last lead for Loras on the afternoon as NWU went on a 12-4 run with just under three minutes to play as the Prairie Wolves built up a 91-84 lead.  After Loras got back within four points, the Prairie Wolves were clutch in the final two minutes.
 
Nate Schimonitz, who reached 20 points for the 11^th time in past 12 IIAC games, made a running layup to put the Prairie Wolves back up by six points.  Schimonitz then stole the ball at the other end giving NWU the ball back with a chance to seal the win.   Deion Wells-Ross missed a 3-pointer, but Ryan Garver pulled down the offensive rebound giving NWU the ball back with a  new shot clock.  Schimonitz let the clock run down then converted a layup for an eight point lead.
 
Loras made one last effort in the final seconds as Matt Daicy-Seijo hit two free throws then made a 3-pointer four seconds later after a steal to make it 99-94 with 16 seconds left.  NWU missed two free throws on the other end, but the Duhawks couldn't take advantage and the celebration began for the Prairie Wolves.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan ended the game shooting 51.5 percent from the floor, going 19-33 in the second half.  The Prairie Wolves were only 6-18 from 3-point range, but converted 27-35 at the free throw line.
 
Loras shot only 39.0 percent from the floor, making 9-36 on 3-pointers.  NWU also held a 47-37 advantage on the glass.
 
Five Prairie Wolves scored in double figures on the day with two players getting over 20 points and double-doubles.
 
Cooper Cook led the way with 27 points and 10 rebounds.  Cook was 4-7 on 3-pointers on the game as he continues to lead the IIAC in 3-point shooting.  Nate Schimonitz also had a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds.  Schimonitz was 7-16 from the field and 9-12 at the free throw line.
 
Deion Wells-Ross added 11 points and four rebounds off the bench and Ryan Garver had 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes off the bench.  Senior Blake Ruiz scored 10 points, all in the second half making 5-6 from the field.
 
Loras had seven players score, with six in double figures.  Ryan DiCanio led the way with 19 points.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan receives a first round bye in the 6-team IIAC Tournament that starts on Feb. 21.  The winner of the IIAC tournament receives an automatic berth in the NCAA III National Tournament.