LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan stepped up their defensive effort in the second half to limit Coe to only 29 points as the Prairie Wolves outscored the Kohawks by 18 to pull away and earn a 93-73 victory in a key Iowa Conference men's basketball matchup on Wednesday night (Jan. 31) at Snyder Arena.
 
With the win, NWU remains in a three-way tie for first place in the league standings and will face the co-leaders in their next two games.  The Prairie Wolves are now 18-3 to equal their win total of one year ago, and move to 9-3 in IIAC action.  Coe falls to 8-13 and 4-8 in IIAC play as the Kohawks had knocked off the other two league leaders in their previous two games.
 
Both teams put on a shooting display in the first half.  NWU held a 46-44 advantage at the break despite Coe hitting 68.0 percent in the first 20 minutes.  The Kohawks missed only eight attempts, going 17-25.
 
NWU led by 12 points at 30-18 at the 9:34 mark in the first half as the Prairie Wolves looked well on their way to a big offensive night.  Coe battled back and got within one point, but never was able to take over the lead.
 
Coe tied the game on their first possession of the second half, but NWU responded with an offensive putback from Cooper Cook to regain the lead.  The Kohawks then went scoreless for three minutes as NWU got ahead by seven points.
 
A zone defense from the Prairie Wolves confused Coe as they settled for outside jump shots and weren't able to get into the paint with ease like they had done in the first half.  After Coe got within seven points at 63-56 with 9:36 to play, the Prairie Wolves made a run.
 
The Prairie Wolves stole the ball on the next three possessions, including back-to-back steals from Ryan Garver that quickly gave NWU a 13-point lead.  NWU maintained the double digit advantage the rest of the way and ended the game with seven points in the final 50 seconds to finish with a 20-point win, the largest margin of the game.
 
Coe shot only 47.6 percent from the floor in the second half and made 3-10 on 3-point shots.  NWU was 52.5 in the second half, and used 19 fast break points in the final 20 minutes to keep extending their lead.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan ended the game shooting 52.1 percent, but it was their defense that made the difference.  The Prairie Wolves tied their season-high with 20 steals, getting 12 in the second half.
 
Ryan Garver set a new career-high with nine steals in the game after getting eight in the first matchup with the Kohawks.  Garver scored 21 points on 9-11 shooting, pulled down six rebounds and had four assists.
 
Cooper Cook led all scorers with 26 points, his highest point total in IIAC play this season.  The other player in double figures was Nate Schimonitz scoring 17 points.  He was 3-7 from 3-point land and added three steals and three assists.
 
Coe was led by Tommy Hook with 16 points on 6-10 shooting.  Spender Williams, the nation's leader in FG percentage, was 5-5 from the field for 12 points.  Matt Meyer also scored 12 and Zach Schlabaugh scored 10 off the bench.
 
The Prairie Wolves now prepare for a critical two-game stretch facing the other top two teams in the Iowa Conference, both of whom have defeated NWU once already.  NWU travels to Storm Lake, Iowa this Saturday to face Buena Vista at 6 pm, then is back home in one week to face Loras College.