SALEM, Va. – 21 years and one overtime later, the Nebraska Wesleyan University men's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Division III National Championship game after the Prairie Wolves rallied back to pull off a 90-78 overtime victory over Springfield College in the national semifinals on Friday night (March 16) at the Salem Civic Center.
 
NWU will meet the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the 2018 NCAA III National Championship game on Saturday night (March 17) at 6:07 pm (ET).  The game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
Trailing by five points with 1:39 left in regulation, the Prairie Wolves dug deep to keep their magical season alive.  Springfield missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving NWU the ball down five.  Ryan Garver was fouled on a 3-pointer and hit 2-3 at the line to make the score 73-70 with 1:00 left.  Once again, the Pride missed the front end of a one-and-one and NWU pulled down the rebound.
 
Garver took a pass from Deion Wells-Ross, pump faked his defender in the air then made a layup while getting fouled.  Garver made the free throw to tie the game at 73-73 with 35 seconds left.  Springfield held for a late shot, but All-American Jake Ross couldn't get a shot off before the shot clock expired as NWU had one last chance.  With 3.2 seconds left, NWU inbounded the ball to Deion Wells-Ross who attempted a 35-foot 3-pointer that went off the backboard sending the game to overtime.
 
Cooper Cook nailed his seventh 3-pointer of the game to start the overtime period and put NWU ahead.  Springfield answered with a 3-pointer of their own on the other end.  Jack Hiller was fouled and sank two free throws with just over four minutes left in OT.  The Pride responded again by knocking down a jump shot, but that would be the final time they scored in the game.
 
NWU ended the game on a 12-0 run, getting a big 3-pointer from Jack Hiller, and old fashioned 3-point play by Nate Schimonitz then both Hiller and Schimonitz each hit a pair of free throws.
 
Senior Deion Wells-Ross put an exclamation point on the season with a monstrous one-handed dunk that sent the Prairie Wolves fans and bench into a celebratory frenzy.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan led for the majority of the first half and got up by as many as seven points, but Springfield made a late run and took a 36-33 lead into the locker room.  The Prairie Wolves were shooting only 41.9 percent in the first half, hitting 5-13 from 3-point range.  Springfield was only 5-19 from 3-point land against the Prairie Wolves 3-2 zone defense.
 
In the second half, NWU regained the lead for a brief moment three different times but a basket by Springfield with 10:38 left in the game put them ahead and the Prairie Wolves never led again in the second half.
 
Springfield got red hot from long range in the closing minutes as they buried 3-poitners on four straight offensive possessions and six of seven possessions, but the Prairie Wolves were able to maintain close range.  The largest deficit was seven points with 2:59 remaining before NWU made the late run with Garver scoring the final five points of regulation.
 
The Pride ended the game with 15 made 3-pointers hitting 15-41 for 36.6 percent.  They shot 44.8 percent from the field overall, but turned the ball over 16 times.
 
NWU ended the game shooting just 40.3 percent, their lowest output in 14 games.  The Prairie Wolves were 12-34 from 3-point range and hit only 16-23 at the free throw line.  They were 9-16 at the charity stripe in regulation before hitting all seven free throw attempts in overtime.
 
All five Prairie Wolves starters scored in double figures, led by Cooper Cook with 25 points.  Cook played all 45 minutes, making 7-16 from 3-point range with three assists.  Ryan Garver scored 21 points with seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Jack Hiller recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Deion Wells-Ross also had 15 points with six rebounds.  Nate Schimonitz was the final player in double figures with 12 points, eight rebounds and a team-high five assists.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan now prepares to play in their second ever NCAA III National Championship game.  They face a Wisconsin-Oshkosh team that defeated Ramapo in the other national semifinal.