UNK Men Win OT Thriller 98-96 Over Northeastern State

Kearney, Neb. – Senior Chase Thompson forced overtime with a turnaround right wing three and sophomore DJ Jameson hit an unlikely left wing three in extra time to help Nebraska Kearney outscore Northeastern State, 98-96, Saturday night at the Health & Sports Center.

The Lopers (8-13, 6-7 MIAA) take the only meeting with the RiverHawks (13-9, 7-6) this year and now lead the series by a 16-6 margin.

Things didn't look good for UNK despite making 11 threes over the first 39:55. The 'Hawks went on a 5-0 run to erase an 84-82 deficit with senior guard Trey Phipps at the line for the second of two free throws. The transfer from Oklahoma and Oral Roberts is the MIAA's leading scorer (21.3 avg) and one of the top free throw shooters (84%). However, he missed with 13 seconds left and that allowed Thompson to avenge that earlier miss. He screened a defender trying to trap Ja'Bryant Hill (Duncanville, Texas), took a pass from Hill and spun around for the tie. Luckily for UNK, a halfcourt heave from guard Bryson Smith was wide left of the bucket.

Things were tied for the 19th and final time at 91 with 2:35 left in overtime. Jamerson (Cibolo, Texas) was wide open on the left wing and promptly knocked down his second triple of the year in 11 attempts. UNK didn't trail again with Phipps called for traveling with his team down three and 10 seconds left. Junior Kendrick Gilbert (St. Louis) sunk two freebies, after missing four during regulation, to make a 96-93 game.

"Just proud of them. We had a rough night on Thursday; we wanted to win that game because everything is so close in the MIAA standings. Felt like you must protect home court," said UNK head coach Marty Levinson on the KRVN Radio post-game show. "Proud of them for battling hard enough to find a way to steal the game. The whole goal is to win, and you don't care how much or how it happens."

NSU shot 56% (35 of 63) from the field, 87% (19 of 22) at the line and was tied with UNK (37-37) on the glass. The Lopers took 12 more shots than the 'Hawks but made two fewer buckets. However, they overcame all that thanks to a season-best 13 threes. Hill and Allen Taylor (Bradley, Ark.) made four apiece with Thompson adding two.

"You have to slow them down. They scored 96 points and they do that almost every night. If you don't go out there and battle them, they can explode pretty fast," said Levinson. "We did a pretty good job of hounding Phipps and it wasn't just one guy. There's multiple guys that had to chase him and fight through multiple screens."  

Taylor went for a team-high 27 points by going 10 of 24 from the field and 3 of 3 at the line. Next, Hill had 20 points and six assists with Gilbert having a season-high 18 points thanks to six buckets and five free throws. Finally, Thompson (15 & 9) and Mullen redshirt freshman Clayton Moore (8 & 7) were close to double doubles.

"Chase definitely missed a couple of shots up to that point, but you just keep going to him. That's what shooters do; that's their strength and you have to keep coming back to it," said Levinson. "DJ has needed the recent success he's had of late badly. He redshirted at Troy, missed some time last year on a very good junior college team. He's worked really hard and believes in himself."

Six-six, 240-pound sophomore post Ethan Blackmon had 20 of his game-high 30 points in the first half with Phills at 29 points on 10 made field goals. He scored over 500 points in his D1 career. Smith (15) and reserve Taven Washington (10) also reached double digits.

UNK heads to Wichita on Wednesday to take on the Newman Jets (13-10, 6-8).