LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan took out their frustration of the first loss of the season on Luther College Saturday afternoon (Jan. 6) as the Prairie Wolves blew out the Norse by 51 points with a 117-66 victory in Iowa Conference men's basketball action at Snyder Arena.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for the Prairie Wolves who shot 52.5 percent from the field as a team to improve to 12-1 overall and 3-1 in IIAC play.  Luther drops to 4-9 and 0-5 in league play as it was a rude homecoming for former NWU coach Mark Franzen who now coaches the Norse.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan got off to another very fast start causing Luther to use four timeouts in the first 12 minutes of the game.  The Prairie Wolves led 14-9 with 15:14 remaining in the half, then went on a 20-0 run over a three minute stretch to lead 34-9.  The lead got up to as wide as 33 points in the first half at 44-11 with 8:39 left in the half.
 
Luther did not cave in and mounted a run of their own to get the lead more respectable as they outscored NWU 16-3 the next five minutes.  They got within 18 points before the break, but Jack Hiller drained a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer to send NWU to halftime with a 58-37 lead.
 
The second half started off just as fast for the Prairie Wolves as they were up by 40 points five minutes into the half at 82-42 and the blowout was on.  The lead reached 97-47 at the 10:10 mark then reserves played out the majority of the second half.
 
After shooting a season-low from 3-point land on Wednesday, the Prairie Wolves were on fire from deep to start the game.  NWU made 9-16 on 3-pointers in the first half for 56.3 percent.  They ended the game 12-29 hitting only 3-13 in the final 20 minutes.
 
NWU dominated on the glass with a +21 advantage on rebounding, including 19 offensive rebounds for 28 second chance points.  The Prairie Wolves full court defense also forced Luther into 21 turnovers, turning those into 43 points.
 
Deion Wells-Ross had a complete game to lead the Prairie Wolves attack.  He scored a game-high 18 points, including an emphatic fast break dunk in the second half.  Wells-Ross also pulled down eight rebounds and dished out eight assists to go along with three steals and three blocked shots.
 
Cooper Cook got back on track from the outside making 3-5 on 3-point attempts to finish with 16 points and five rebounds.  Jack Hiller also was 3-5 from 3-point land and scored 17 points.  Ryan Garver finished with 15 points and Nate Schimonitz scored 10 making his first start of the year.
 
A total of 14 players scored in the game for the Prairie Wolves who ended the ballgame with 24 assists.
 
Luther had two players score in double figures led by James Kappus with 13 points.
 
NWU will be on the road Wednesday night in Dubuque, Iowa to face Loras College in a matchup of the two teams that tied for the IIAC regular season championship one year ago.  The Duhawks dropped a game on Saturday to fall to 3-2 in the league.  Only one team (Buena Vista) remains undefeated in IIAC play through five games.