DUBUQUE, Iowa – Nebraska Wesleyan rallied back from a ten point halftime deficit to force overtime but in the extra period Loras College outscored the Prairie Wolves 14-4 as the Duhawks came away with the 97-87 victory.  The game was a rematch of the two teams that tied for the 2017 IIAC men's basketball regular season championship.
 
Loras hit 3-pointers in overtime, including two big trifectas from Demond George on back-to-back possessions to give the Duhawks a nine point advantage that was too much for the Prairie Wolves to overcome.  NWU made just one field goal in the overtime period by Ryan Garver at the 3:54 mark to tie the game at 85-85.  Loras controlled the rest of the way as NWU only got two free throws.
 
The game had several big lead swings throughout in a matchup between the top scoring teams in the IIAC.  NWU led by 10 points just over five minutes into the game jumping out to a 13-3 advantage as the Duhawks had only one field goal in the first 5:46 of the contest.  Loras slowly chipped away and tied the game with just over seven minutes to play in the first half.  Over the next seven minutes, the Duhawks outscored NWU 20-10 to take a 43-33 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, Loras maintained the double digit lead until the 12 minute mark when NWU started to make their move.  A layup from Cooper Cook at the 9:21 mark tied the game at 64-64.  Loras regained the lead and held on until the final minutes.
 
With 1;44 to play the Prairie Wolves trailed by five until Cook hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to three points.  Loras missed a 3-pointer on their end of the court giving the Prairie Wolves the ball back with a chance to tie the game.  NWU set up a play that had Jack Hiller come to the top of the key where he drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 83-83.
 
Loras missed a 3-pointer giving the Prairie Wolves a chance to take the lead.  Cooper Cook attempted a 3-pointer in front of the NWU bench with 14 seconds left but it was off giving the ball back to Loras.  At the Duhawks dribbled in the lane, Nate Schimonitz knocked the ball away sending the game to overtime.
 
The overtime period started with the two teams changing baskets to keep it tied at 85-85, but the Prairie Wolves didn't make a field goal the rest of the way.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan struggled shooting the basketball, especially from 3-point range where the Prairie Wolves were only 8-30 from deep.  NWU also hit just 15-26 at the free throw line.  They ended the game shooting 42.1 percent overall from the field.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for NWU but they only got eight points off the bench. 
 
Nate Schimonitz scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Prairie Wolves while dishing out a team-high six assists.  Cooper Cook scored 19 points with four blocked shots and Ryan Garver scored 18 points with eight rebounds.  Deion Wells-Ross recorded his sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Jack Hiller scored 10 points.
 
Loras had four players in double figures led by Josh Ruggles with 20 points.  Ryan DiCanio had a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds with six assists.
 
NWU will look to bounce back from their second loss of the season this Saturday when they host the University of Dubuque at Snyder Arena.