LINCOLN, Neb. – Top-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan made an impressive debut to the 2018-19 men's basketball season in their home opener on Thursday night (Nov. 8) as they ran past Grinnell College, 143-90, to begin the season with a statement.
 
Only one thing remained in doubt as time ran down and that was if the Prairie Wolves could set the school record for points.  In the end, they came up one point short of the record of 144 that was set in 2017 versus Kansas Christian.  NWU did set a new record for points in half, scoring 79 in the first half to break the previous record of 78 that was set versus York College in 1995.
 
Facing the unique full court style of play from Grinnell, the Prairie Wolves put on a display of sharing the basketball and executing the fast break to perfection.  NWU shot 71.4 percent from the field in the first half and ended the game at 69.6 percent.  They made 64 total baskets, with 48 assists.
 
In all, the Prairie Wolves scored 81 fast break points, compared to only 11 for Grinnell which also likes to get up and down the court.
 
Grinnell relied heavily on the 3-point shot and they weren't falling on Thursday night.  The Pioneers were 16-62 for 25.8 percent.  Meanwhile, Nebraska Wesleyan shot 55.6 percent from long distance hitting 10-18 from 3-point range.
 
The Prairie Wolves used a big run to pull away in the first half as they turned a five point lead into a 23 point lead in just under six minutes.  NWU led 16-13 with 16:28 left in the half, then outscored the Pioneers 23-3 to make the score 39-16. 
 
Never the rest of the way were the Pioneers able to pull back within 20 points and NWU had their largest lead of 60 points with just under four minutes left in the game.
 
A very balanced attack on offense gave the Prairie Wolves five players in double figures and three guys with over 20 points.  Ryan Garver led the way posting a double-double of 22 points and 11 assists.  He was 11-14 from the floor.
 
Nate Bahe was a perfect 10-10 from the field scoring 21 points and had the most exciting play of the night with his thunderous one-handed dunk on a fast break in the first half right in front of the NWU student section.  Dylan Dirks also came off the bench to score 20 points on 8-10 shooting with two 3-pointers.
 
Nate Schimonitz scored 15 points with eight assists and Jack Hiller finished with 12 points. 
 
A total of 17 players scored on the night for the Prairie Wolves.
 
Grinnell was led by Vinny Curta with 23 points. Curta was the leading scorer in all of NCAA basketball when he averaged over 32 points a game.
 
NWU is back in action on Monday (Nov. 12) with a trip to Bethany Lutheran College.