WAVERLY, Iowa – Men's basketball (10-3, 2-2 A-R-C) fell to Nebraska Wesleyan University (9-4, 4-0 A-R-C) in the final seconds in an American Rivers Conference battle inside Levick Arena on Saturday, Jan. 3.
 
Game Summary

• First Half
  • The Prairie Wolves opened the game with a made three pointer, but Wartburg would respond right away with a three of its own from Gabe Trujillo
    • NWU scored the next seven points to take an early 10-3 lead after four minutes of play
  • After almost three minutes of scoreless play, Ethan Yungtum connected on a three pointer and Luke Ladwig scored two baskets in the paint to cut the Nebraska Wesleyan down to 15-10 with 11 minutes left in the first half
  • A 6-0 advantage for NWU over the next two minutes opened Wartburg's deficit to 11 points
  • Yungtum and Trujillo combined for the next eight points scored to bring the NWU lead back down to 21-18 with just over six and a half minutes remaining in the half
  • NWU outscored Wartburg 7-2 over the next three minutes to make the score 28-20 with 3:26 left in the half
  • Wartburg caught fire in the final minutes of the half as the Knights closed the first half on a 13-2 run that put Wartburg in front 33-30 at halftime
    • Austin Bienemann, Ladwig and Trujillo each made a three during the run and Ladwig closed it with a tough floater at the buzzer
• Second Half
  • The Prairie Wolves scored the first four points of the second half, but Yungtum stopped the short run with a four-point play to put the Knights back ahead 37-34
  • NWU outscored the Knights 10-3 over the next two and a half minutes to retake the lead 44-40
  • The Knights got scores from both Drake Wemark and Ladwig before a three-point play from Yungtum brought the Knights within two points (49-47) with 11:49 left to play
    • Trujillo and Lyle Olsen both connected on three pointers to tie the game up 53-53 minutes later
  • Scores from Bienemann and Yungtum kept the Knights in striking position, trailing 58-57 with just under five minutes left to play
  • Ladwig found an open Trujillo for three with 2:23 left to play to give the Knights a 64-62 lead, but the Prairie Wolves answered with a three of their own right away to push the score to 65-64 with two minutes to go
  • Bienemann made three free throws over the next two possessions to put the Knights in front 67-65 with 20 seconds left, but NWU was able to go 3/4 from the free throw line in the five seconds of play to hold off the Knights 68-67

 
Top Performers

• Ethan Yungtum
  • 19 points
  • 14 rebounds
  • One assist
• Gabe Trujillo
  • 15 points
  • Six rebounds
  • Four assists
  • One steal
• Luke Ladwig
  • 12 points
  • Six assists
  • One rebound

 
Notes/Streaks

• Back-to-back home games against NWU decided by one score
  • 1-1 in those games
• NWU leads the all-time series 16-6
• Career-high four three pointers made for Trujillo
  • Also, a season-high 15 points
• 11^th double double of the season for Yungtum
  • 13^th of his career
• Ladwig has recorded five or more assists in seven-straight games and Bienemann has recorded five or more assists in four-straight games
• Wemark logged a team-high three steals
  • Also added six points, seven rebounds and five assists
• Wartburg held a 46-30 advantage on the glass
  • Including a 19-7 edge in offensive rebounds
• NWU led the turnover battle with 13 compared to Wartburg's 19
• As a team, Wartburg shot:
  • 40% FG, 32.1% 3P and 52.6% FT

 
Next Time Out
The Knights are back in action Wednesday, Jan. 7 at 7:30 p.m. on the road against the University of Dubuque.