Loper Men Beat Rival Tigers, 68-67

Kearney, Neb. – Four starters scored in double figures and Nebraska Kearney dodged a last second shot to beat rival Fort Hays State, 68-67, Tuesday night at Buckle Court.

The Lopers (8-8, 1-4) head to Hays (10-4, 2-3) in February for the regular season finale. That'll be the 145th meeting between the two.

Tonight, UNK led virtually the entire way but not by more than nine points. A banked in three from the top of the key by the Tigers cut into a 64-60 deficit with 2:02 left. They then took a brief lead after a turnover and two made free throws.

Redshirt sophomore wing Clayton Moore (Mullen) gave the Lopers the lead back after two freebies, but senior lefty guard Lucas Hammeke gave Hays the lead back again thanks to a driving layup. A dramatic final 40 seconds was set up after UNK guard Wade Williams (Huntsville, Texas) made his sixth shot of the game and Moore poked the ball out of the Tigers leading scorer hands, forward Dan Mukuna.

With the shot clocking run down, senior point guard Ja'Bryant Hill (Dallas) missed a jumper with Mukuna grabbing the rebound. Hays didn't call timeout and went to Hammeke who had a big second half. With the game clocking running down, he got caught in the lane with no one to throw it to. He eventually spun around to the left and ran into Williams. His contested shot hit the front of the rim and rolled off; he hit a game-winner last Saturday vs. Missouri Western.

"Our guys were just focused and about the right things. We didn't let anything distract us, we didn't let the recent losses or missed shots take our energy, we didn't get frustrated when a whistle didn't go our way," said UNK head coach Marty Levinson. "We focused on the game plan and packed in on Mukuna and chased their shooters off the line."

Senior forward Anthony Swift (Las Vegas) had a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds (all defensive) with Williams having the hot hand early and tallying 13. Finally, both Hill and Moore had 12 apiece with Moore at seven steals.

"We've been using zone (defense) a lot all year. With the length that we have, the size that have, sometimes it's good to use. It limits fouls, but you have to use your IQ in the zone," said Levinson. "You have to cheat towards the right guys, help at the right spots and not just sit in a 2-3 zone. We definitely did that tonight."

Hammeke had 17 of his game high 21 points in the second half as he made 10 of 14 shots. Next, Mukuna had 16 points with fellow starter Kyle Grill at 10 and six rebounds. Finally, UNK was plus six on the glass, the Tigers were cold at the line (11 of 19) and arc (6 of 23) and the Lopers had just eight turnovers. 

UNK is the "MIAA Game of the Week" Saturday at Emporia State (4-9, 0-4). That is the first game of the day at 1:30 p.m. on 38 The Spot (K.C. Metro area).