Lincoln, Neb. – The Polars finish play at the Snyder Classic with 56-70 loss vs. Nebraska Wesleyan University.
Colby Deluce knocked down a three on the opening possession of the game to give the Polars an early 3-0 lead. NWU answered right back with a three of their own to start an early back and forth.
Tristan Youngblood and
Colby Deluce kept the Polars in the game early, but NWU could not miss for much of the first half. They finished the half shooting over 50% from the floor and from three, going 7-13 from deep in the first half. NWU also got to the free throw line 7 times, making 6 of those. The Polars nearly kept pace from the field in the first half, also shooting over 50%, but they made two less threes on one less attempt, and only went 1-2 from the free throw line.
After trailing by 13 to start the second half, the Polars quickly cut the lead to single digits, again led by Deluce and Youngblood. With 11 minutes left in the game,
Colby Deluce knocked down a free throw to bring the game to 5 points. NWU quickly brought the lead back to double digits, but the Polars proved resilient again, cutting the lead to 4 on a
Parker Behne three with just over 6 minutes left and giving the Polars a real possibility of completing a comeback. NWU was able to extend the lead back to 8 with about 2 and a half minutes left and hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the game and win by a final score of 70-56. NWU went 11-14 from the free throw line in the second half and shot over 80% from the line. The Polars shot 75% in the half but only shot 4 free throws. The Polars also went just 3-15 from three in the second half (20%), but NWU went 2-12 (16.67%).
Although a 14-point differential in the game, each team made 22 total field goals. NWU also made just one more three than Crown on two less attempts. The rest of the difference was at the free throw line as NWU went 17-21 (81%) compared to Crown's 4-6 (66.7%). NWU also won the turnover battle as Crown turned it over 17 times compared to NWU's 9. NWU turned these turnovers into 22 points. Individually for the Polars, two players led the team in scoring with 13. They were
Anthony Knight and
Colby Deluce. Knight added 7 assists and 6 boards, going 6-10 from the floor.
Tristan Youngblood finished with 12, while
Tyler Smith finished with 13 boards and 5 blocks.
The Polars return home from the Snyder Classic with a week break as they play Bethel University next Saturday, December 6 at 7pm at home.
