Metro State Downs Loper Men
Kearney, Neb. – The No. 22/25 Metro State Roadrunners shot 53 percent from the field and closed the first half on a 12-1 run to down Nebraska Kearney, 85-72, Sunday afternoon at the Health & Sports Center.
The 'Runners (10-2) bounce back from a 66-50 loss at Fort Hays State Thursday night while the Lopers end the first semester with a 3-7 mark. This was the first meeting between the old Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) rivals in 13 years with Metro now leading the all-time series, 28-27.
On Thursday night, Regis went 9 of 17 from behind the arc in the first half before cooling off after the break. The same story happened today as Metro was 7 of 13 from downtown to lead for much of the first half. They were just 2 for 11 over the final 20 minutes.
Getting 15 first half points from junior guard Ja'Bryant Hill (Duncanville, Texas), UNK weathered the threes to have things tied up at 34 at the 3:07 mark. A 9-3 spurt featured seven points from Hill, but Metro broke the tie after a three from redshirt senior serve Sufyan Elkannan. Post Brayden Carter then made two free throws, converted a three-point play and had one of Metro's four dunks on the afternoon to make it 46-35. UNK wouldn't get closer than nine points rest of the way.
"At the end of the half, the shot clock was at 30 and they had the ball at 23. I knew they were going to get the last shot, so we went with a little trap," said UNK head coach Marty Levinson. "They got out of it, scored on us and I think that gave them a little burst. They also made some plays before that."
Going 31 of 59 from the field and 14 of 17 at the line, Metro was paced by Carter (22 points, six rebounds), Elkannan (11 points; 3 of 5 threes) and starters Quave Propst-Allison (13 points; 3 of 5 threes) and Caleb McGill (17 points, points).
"They are a good team…they have long rangy wings, guards that can shoot and are fast and two really good bigs," said Levinson.
UNK could've made things a bit tighter down the stretch but was just 7 of 16 at the line. They were 15 of 24 against Regis to be at 70% for the season.
"I don't know what was up with our free throws. We've shot the ball well; it's like the turnover thing. We hadn't had a turnover issue until the Central Missouri game," said Levinson. "Rebounding, turnovers, free throws; you can never stop talking about them, never stop giving them attention. We didn't concentrate at the line as hard as we needed to."
Hill had a season-best 24 points thanks to 10 of 23 (3 of 7 threes) shooting. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Missing much of the first half due to taking an elbow to the nose, Omaha senior Chase Thompson had 12 points (two threes) with Texas sophomore post Taylor Harrell close to a double double (14 points, nine rebounds). Finally, UNK shot 44% from the field, was out rebounded by only four and committed just seven turnovers.
"JB has a long leash. He had a 50-point game last year, he made big shots to win a National Championships, won a high school state title. He's small but mighty," said Levison. "He's got toughness, he's got confidence."
The Division II moratorium runs from Dec. 23-29 this year with UNK at Missouri Western (Jan. 2) and Northwest Missouri (Jan. 4) to start the New Year.