DUBUQUE, Iowa. (March 8, 2021) - The Nebraska Wesleyan men's basketball team (3-3) fell to No. 7, and top-seeded, Dubuque (12-0), 65-58, in the quarterfinals of the American River Conference (A-R-C) Men's Basketball Tournament. The loss ended NWU's bid for a fourth consecutive A-R-C tournament title and snapped its seven-game winning streak in the conference tournament.
After cutting down Dubuque's early eight-point lead, the Prairie Wolves used an 11-0 run, sparked by an Elijah Thatch three-pointer, to take its first lead of the game at the 12:41 mark in the first half. Austin Endorf connected on a three to give Nebraska Wesleyan the lead. The teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes, with neither team leading by more than three points, until a 7-0 Spartan run. The run set them up to carry a six-point advantage into halftime.
Similar to how the first half started, Dubuque took an early eight-point margin with 17 minutes to play but Nebraska Wesleyan countered with a 12-3 rally over the next four minutes for a one-point lead. During the rally, Josh Rogers scored six of his team-high 21 points. However, it would be the last lead NWU would have as the Spartans scored 12 of the next 16 points. After that point, Nebraska Wesleyan could never get closer than one possession.
Defensively, the Prairie Wolves limited Dubuque to shoot just 35.8 percent from the field, its worst shooting percentage of the season. Nebraska Wesleyan also forced the Spartans to a 30 percent shooting percentage from three-point range, their second worst output of the season.
Notable Stats and Performances
-Nebraska Wesleyan's six-game winning streak against Dubuque was snapped with the loss but NWU still leads the all-time series 12-2.
-The Prairie Wolves outrebounded the Spartans 45-36, it was the fourth consecutive game they won the rebounding margin.
-NWU tallied six steals in the game, tied for the most allowed by UD this season.
-Josh Rogers scored 21 points for Nebraska Wesleyan; he set a new career-high for points in a game in back-to-back games.
-Elijah Thatch recorded 15 rebounds, the most by a Prairie Wolf this season.
-Connor Riekenberg had five assists, a single-game high for NWU this season.
-Dubuque's Peter Ragen netted a game-high 32 points.
