LINCOLN, Neb. – Nebraska Wesleyan and Central combined to make 30 3-pointers and in the end it was the top-ranked Prairie Wolves that came away with a 91-83 victory in the American Rivers Conference men's basketball opener on Wednesday night (Nov. 28) at Snyder Arena.
 
It was a hard fought battle between the two teams that met last season in the tournament championship on the same court.  Central didn't back down and they held toe to toe with the Prairie Wolves, largely behind the play of Seth Wood and Jamel McKnight. 
 
Wood was unconscious from deep making eight 3-pointers in the game, while McKnight was penetrating and dishing out to Wood as McKnight ended the game with 11 assists.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan led the entire game from start to finish and got up by as many as 17 points in the 2^nd half.  The Dutch slowly chipped away and got within five points at 75-70 with 5:11 remaining.  NWU responded with a pair of free throws by Nate Schimonitz and a big 3-pointer from Cooper Cook to get back up by ten points at 80-70 with 4:33 left.
 
A deep 3-pointer from Wood cut the lead back down to seven points, then NWU was able to build the lead to double digits once again, getting up by as many as 14 points with 1:51 left.  A final 3-pointer from Wood with 40 seconds left made it a seven point game, but Schimonitz hit one free throw and the Dutch came up empty on their next trip down the court.
 
Both teams were on fire from 3-point range as NWU was 14-26 for 53.8 percent and Central hit 16-39 for 41.0 percent.
 
As a team, the Prairie Wolves ended the game shooting 54.7 percent from the floor.  They came into the game as the top field goal shooting team in NCAA III basketball.  Central shot 45.2 percent, but they held the big advantage on the glass.  The Dutch outrebounded NWU 40-26, with 14 offensive rebounds.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan once again struggles at the free throw line shooting 19-28 at the charity stripe for 67.9 percent.
 
Wood led all scorers for Central posting a double-double of 32 points and 13 rebounds, finishing 8-17 from 3-point land.  McKnight also had a double-double with 22 points and 11 assists.
 
The Prairie Wolves used a balanced scoring attack with all five starters reaching double figures.  Cooper Cook led the way with 22 points and six rebounds.  Cook was 6-9 on 3-pointers and had three blocked shots.  Nate Schimonitz also topped 20 points finishing with 21 scoring 16 points in the second half.
 
Ryan Garver recorded his fourth double-double of the year with 10 points and 12 assists.  Jack Hiller was 4-6 from 3-point range to score 14 points and Clay Reimers added 13 points, going 5-6 from the floor and 3-3 on 3-pointers.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan will take their undefeated record on the road this Saturday traveling to Dubuque, Iowa to face University of Dubuque.  The Spartans defeated nationally-ranked Loras College on Wednesday night.