LINCOLN, Neb. – 5^th-Seeded Central College held top-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan to their lowest point total of the season as the Dutch defeated the Prairie Wolves 85-63 in the IIAC Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals on Thursday night (Feb. 23) in front of an energetic crowd at Snyder Arena.  Central advances to the IIAC Tournament Championship game where they will host Wartburg College on Saturday night.
 
NWU ends their 2016-17 season with an 18-8 overall record in the first year of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and shared the conference regular season title, their first conference title since 2000.  It also marks the first time the Prairie Wolves posted three straight winning seasons since 2005.
 
The Prairie Wolves point total of 63 points was the fewest points scored by a NWU team in the three-year tenure of Coach Dale Wellman.  It had been 90 games dating back to January of 2014 since NWU was held to 63 points.
 
Central jumped out to 12-point lead in the first half before the Prairie Wolves made a late charge to close out the half.  The Dutch led 28-16 with 6:48 remaining in the first half and still led by nine with just under three minutes to play.  From there NWU went on a 10-0 run to retake the lead at 37-36.  Central got a basket in the final minute to post a 38-37 halftime lead.
 
Just like many of the IIAC battles all season, Thursday's game looked poised to be another thriller as the teams were within one point at the break.
 
A 24-5 run to open the second half saw the Dutch extend their lead to 20 points with just under ten minutes remaining.  The Prairie Wolves were ice cold from the field as they made only two field goals during the ten minute stretch to start the second half.  Central extended their lead to as many as 26 points as NWU never got into an offensive rhythm.
 
NWU shot 23.5% from the floor in the second half making only 8-34 from the field and 2-12 on 3-pointers.  They finished the game at 34.8%, the lowest shooting percentage of the season and worst shooting night since the 2015-16 season opener.
 
Central had a great night shooting the basketball at 52.5% from the field, including 56.7% in the second half.  Pete Walker led the Dutch with 23 points, while Kyle Smith came off the bench to score 21 points making 5-8 on 3-pointers.
 
Two Prairie Wolves players combined to score 40 of the 63 team points.  Deion Wells-Ross had a very solid performance off the bench for the Prairie Wolves with 20 points, eight rebounds and a steal.  He had 16 points in the first half and kept the Prairie Wolves close.  Freshman Nate Schimonitz also had 20 points in the game, on 8-20 shooting.
 
The future looks bright for the Prairie Wolves as they will return a majority of the top players for next season.  NWU must say goodbye to three seniors who played their final game at Snyder Arena.  Blake Ruiz, Max Cook and Trevor Leiting all closed their careers on Thursday night, going out with three straight winning seasons including a record of 40-12 over the past two years.