ST. LOUIS, Mo – IIAC MVP Ryan Garver was perfect from the field and just missed a triple double as he led Nebraska Wesleyan to a 94-70 victory over Maryville College (Tenn.) in the opening round of the NCAA III National Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday night (March 2) at the Washington University Fieldhouse in St. Louis, Mo.
 
NWU wins their first postseason game since the 1997 season when they advanced to the NCAA III National Championship game.
 
The Prairie Wolves are now 25-3 overall and will Aurora University (Ill.) on Saturday night (March 3) at 7 pm for a trip to next weekend's sweet sixteen.  Aurora upset #4 Washington University in the other opening round game.
 
Garver was the story of the game with his all-around performance, but he was far from a one man show as all five starters reached double figures in scoring and the Prairie Wolves shot 55.9 percent from the floor, including 12-29 from 3-point range.
 
NWU and Maryville went back and forth early as the game was tied four times with the lead changing four times early. 
 
With 13:27 to play in the first half, the game was tied at 15-15.  From there, Nebraska Wesleyan began to make their presence known and prove to the country that they belong in the conversation as one of the top teams in NCAA III.
 
The Prairie Wolves went on a 18-0 run over the next seven minutes to build up a 33-15 lead at the 6:18 mark after a free throw from Deion Wells-Ross.  They weren't done yet as they continued to pile on the Scots in the first half.  NWU went up 42-17 for a 27-2 run to get up by 25 points and they would lead by as many as 26 points in the first half.  NWU took a 48-26 lead into the break. 
 
Maryville shot just 34.5 percent in the first half, but it was their 13 turnovers that were the biggest problem.  The Prairie Wolves zone defense once again proved to be a problem in making the opposition uncomfortable on the offensive end of the floor.
 
In the second half, the Prairie Wolves would get ahead by as many as 29 points after a Garver steal and layup with 10:39 to play.  The Scots were never able to get within 20 points the rest of the way.
 
What a night it was for Garver as he was 7-7 from the floor to score 18 points with 14 rebounds for his first double-double of the season, just one day after being named the IIAC Most Valuable Player.  Garver narrowly missed a triple double as he also had eight assists and a team-high four steals.
 
Cooper Cook led the Prairie Wolves in scoring with 19 points, making 7-9 from the field and 3-5 on his 3-point attempts.  With his first made 3-pointer, Cook went over 200 for his career. 
 
Nate Schimonitz and Jack Hiller both scored 15 points on the night.  Schimonitz had a team-high seven assists on the night with two steals, and Hiller made two 3-pointers.  Deion Wells-Ross finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.
 
Dante Hoppe led the Scots with 18 points and 10 rebounds as Maryville ends the season at 22-7.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan needs just one more victory to equal the school record for wins in a season, and they will go for that record on Saturday night.