Kearney, Neb. – Junior guard Eldon Turner had a big night, and Wayne State closed the first half on a 12-0 run to defeat Nebraska Kearney, 75-62, Monday night at Rice Arena.
This was the season opener for both with WSC taking home the inaugural “Flat Water Hardwood Classic” Trophy.
Looking for its first season-opening win since 2017, the Lopers led throughout the first half and were up 29-21 after a layup from junior forward Tavian Cruse (Bonner Springs, Kan.). However, it was all ‘Cats after that as the 12-0 spurt gave them a two-bucket lead at the break. Wayne then shot 56% over the final 20 minutes, including a 6 of 11 from downtown, to pad its lead.
Turner hit six straight free throws and two layups as part of that key run. He finished with a game-high 23 points on five baskets and a 12 of 15 effort from the line. Adding three steals and nine boards, he was one reason three UNK starters had at least three fouls.
“You’ve got to do the tough things when the momentum goes the other way. Kudos to Wayne; they were the tougher team tonight. They controlled the loose balls, they controlled the tempo, they got to the line against us and turned us over,” said UNK head coach Marty Levinson on the KRVN Radio post-game show. “We couldn’t settle in offensively. We’re running a lot of stuff that takes continuity, takes us to reads and conceptual stuff. They blew us up, didn’t let us get to our spots and we were going East-West quite a bit.”
Tallying 21 points off 22 Loper turnovers, the ‘Cats also got 15 points from senior reserve Landon Classen (4 of 6 threes) with starting forward Matt Noll posting a double double (11 points, 10 rebounds).
UNK was paced by sophomore southpaw Zeek Brown (Kansas City) who had a career-high 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting (4 for 4 threes). He worked around four fouls and had two of UNK’s eight steals.
“Turner is a good point guard. He controlled the tempo on us, and we had a tough time turning him over. He made the right play repeatedly,” said Levinson. “Zeek’s numbers in shooting drills are unbelievable. We were waiting for that all of last year because we knew it was in him.”
Finally, starters and newcomers Amarion Savage (Aurora, Ill.) and Elhadji Thiam (Pickerington, Ohio) had 12 points apiece with freshman point guard Nate Kelley (Scottsbluff) having all 10 of his points in the second half.
The Lopers face Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State this weekend in the Twin Cities as part of the annual MIAA/NSIC Crossover Tournament.
