UNK Men Defeat Emporia In Kearney, 84-78

Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney men’s basketball team shot 59 percent from the field and had five score in double figures to hold off Emporia State, 84-78, Saturday night at the Health & Sports Center.

It was “Senior Night” with the Lopers (13-14, 6-10) splitting the season series with the Hornets (8-17, 4-12). UNK is currently 10th in the MIAA standings, a half-game ahead of both Northeastern State and Northwest Missouri. The 10-team league tournament is in the first week of March.

The Lopers were unconscious for much of the first half, going 19 of 24 (79%) from the field. That included a 7 of 13 effort from behind the arc to help UNK open a 51-33 lead. However, E-State shot a healthy 45% in the half and guard Trey Redd finished things with a three-point play.

After the break, the Hornets outscored the Lopers by a 42-33 margin as UNK cooled off (44%) while E-State warmed up a bit (49%). While they tied the game twice in the final 1:48, Emporia never took the lead. Down the stretch, they missed three free throws and their last four threes and had two turnovers.

With things tied at 78, Denver senior wing Tom Connelly nailed a three from well beyond the top of the key with 49 seconds left. Dallas senior point guard Ja’Bryant Hill then made two freebies to push the lead to four with St. Louis senior wing Kendrick Gilbert going 1 of 2 at the line to complete the scoring. He also blocked a late Hornet triple.

“Coach (Tom) Billeter is one of the best in the country, so you know they are going to fight until the end. He’s won a National Championships (2016 at Augustana) so his teams know what to do,” said Loper coach Marty Levinson. “I’m just proud of our guys for staying the course and for Tom to pretty much hit a game-winning three on Senior Night. Happy for him and glad he got his roses today.”

UNK ended up 31 of 53 from the floor (.585 pct.), its second-best effort of the year. They were at 59.4% in a win over Hesston (Kan.) College in December. Outrebounded by 10, the Lopers committed just eight turnovers and had six between nine and 18 points.

Hill tallied a team-high 18 points thanks to five buckets and seven freebies. He also had eight assists, four steals and three boards. Next, Connelly had 12 off the bench with Gilbert at 16 points and three dimes. Finally, Texas senior Wade Williams had nine points, five caroms and four dimes with Las Vegas junior forward Anthony Swift close to another double double (17 points, nine rebounds).

“Tom could’ve gone to other places when I took this job, and I told him I wanted him to be a part of this. But we’re not done yet hopefully. The final story isn’t written yet because we want Tom and the other seniors to get to experience Kansas City.”

Emporia freshman Treyvon Taylor posted a double double (21 points, 10 rebounds) with reserve shooter Dallas Bear at 12 points on four threes and Redd at 13 points, seven assists and seven rebounds.

UNK is at Pittsburg State (14-10, 8-6) and Missouri Southern (13-10, 7-7) next week.