LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan used a 33-10 run in the 1
st half shooting red hot from the floor as the No. 1 ranked Prairie Wolves opened the 30
th Annual Snyder Classic with an impressive 99-77 victory over University of Redlands on Friday night (Nov. 23) at Snyder Arena in Lincoln.
The Prairie Wolves improve to 5-0 on the season and will look to complete the successful Thanksgiving Day weekend tradition on Saturday when they take on Olivet College of Michigan.
NWU shot 58.3 percent from the field in the first half to build up a 59-33 advantage at the break. The Prairie Wolves got up by as many as 34 points late in the second half before reserves played the final minutes of the game.
Senior
Cooper Cook broke out of his shooting slump in a big way on Friday night, much to the delight of the home crowd. Cook, who has been the MVP of the Snyder Classic in each of the past two seasons, was 5-8 from 3-point land in the first half scoring 19 points.
He finished the game with a team-high 24 points, to lead a trio of Prairie Wolves who scored in double figures. It was the first time this season that Cook had scored in double figures.
The Prairie Wolves forced Redlands into 11 turnovers in the first half as they couldn't figure out the NWU 3-2 zone defense. NWU ended the game with 11 total steals, scoring 35 fast break points and 27 points off turnovers.
Redlands shot 50 percent from the field in the second half to end the game at 42.6 percent overall. The Bulldogs hit 10-31 from long range. David Menary led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds. Gary Menary scored 14 points with four rebounds. Joey Sponheim just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
Nebraska Wesleyan had three players scored in double figures, including two over 20 points. Besides Cook's 20,
Nate Schimonitz scored 20 points and had a team-high seven assists. He was 8-13 from the floor and 2-3 on 3-pointers.
Clay Reimers was the other player in double figures scoring 12 points with six rebounds.
As a team, the Prairie Wolves ended the game at 51.5 percent, making 13-29 from 3-point range and 18-21 at the free throw line.
