LINCOLN, Neb. – Men's basketball fell just short in today's American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) 75-72 loss on the road to (RV) Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Four different Knights scored 10 or more points, led by a season-best 16 points from
Gabe Trujillo. Wartburg is now 12-10 overall and 4-9 in conference play, while NWU is now 17-5 overall and 12-1 in A-R-C play.
Game Summary
- First Half
- The Prairie Wolves came out of the gates firing away on offense as NWU jumped out to a 10-0 lead after two minutes of play
- Back-to-back three pointers from Austin Bienemann put the Knights on the board as Wartburg trailed 12-6 a minute later
- A 9-2 Wartburg run gave Wartburg a 15-14 lead with just over 13 minutes left in the half after four points from Ethan Yungtum, a three pointer from Gabe Trujillo and a score from Luke Ladwig
- The Knights' offense continued to click over the next three and a half minutes as Drake Wemark and Trujillo both scored in the paint before Bienemann and Mason Matson each knocked down triples to put the Knights in front 25-20
- Wartburg continued to add to its lead after more scores in the paint from Ladwig, Wemark and Trujillo along with a free throw made by Yungtum to make the score 32-24 with just 5:17 left in the first half
- The Prairie Wolves outscored the Knights 8-4 over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to 36-32 before Ladwig added another score to put the Knights in front 38-32
- Yungtum ended the first half with a three pointer assisted by Ladwig to put Wartburg in front 41-34
- Second Half
- The Prairie Wolves began the second half on a 11-2 run that included 3/3 shooting from downtown to retake a 45-43 lead after almost four minutes of play
- Ladwig had the lone score for the Knights during the run
- Following a Wartburg timeout, Wemark scored three points for the Knights before Schramm converted on two free throws to tie the game back up at 48-48 with just under 14 minutes left to play
- NWU outscored the Knights 10-6 over the next four minutes to hold on to a 58-54 lead despite scores from Cael Schramm and Bienemann
- Trujillo scored five of Wartburg's next seven points to make it 64-61, NWU still in front, with just over five minutes left to play
- Wartburg was trailing 67-61 three minutes left to play before the Knights exploded for a 7-0 run that gave Wartburg a 68-67 lead with 1:16 left to play
- Bienemann and Trujillo scored in the paint while Ladwig hit a three pointer with an assist from Trujillo during the run
- The Prairie Wolves responded the next possession with a step-back three pointer that put NWU back in front 70-68
- Schramm and Bienemann each scored two points following NWU free throw attempts to make the score 73-72 with under 10 seconds remaining
- With NWU leading 75-72, the Knights were able to draw a foul on a three point shot with under five seconds left to play
- The Knights were unable to convert at the line and got one more chance after a loose ball offensive rebound, but the three point shot didn't fall as NWU held off Wartburg 75-72
Top Performers
Notes/Streaks
- The season series is now 1-1 between these teams with both games ending in one possession games
- The Prairie Wolves lead the all-time series 17-6
- 14-4 in A-R-C matchups
- Wartburg is 1-10 on the road in the series
- Four different Knights finished with double-digit scoring figures
- Six different Knights scored eight or more points today
- Season high in scoring for Trujillo
- Top two scoring performances were against NWU this season
- Schramm tied his career high in blocks tonight with three
- Ethan Yungtum has recorded a double double in 14/22 games this season
- Ranks second in Division III
- Bienemann has made three or more three pointers in four-straight games
Next Time Out
The Knights will return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 11 on the road against Buena Vista University at 7:30 p.m.
