HAYS, Kan. – Wade Williams scored the game-winning put-back field goal as time expired to give Nebraska Kearney a come-from-behind 77-75 victory over No. 9 ranked Southwest Minnesota State in day two of the MIAA/NSIC Challenge on Sunday afternoon in men's college basketball.
 
UNK, 2-3 overall, used a key 19-5 run to rally from a 10-point deficit with just over nine minutes left in the game. Williams led the Lopers with 25 points on 10 of 15 shooting with four 3-pointers.
 
Aeron Stevens had a big game for SMSU scoring a game-high 26 points, while making 9 of 16 shots with a pair of 3-pointers. Jakob Braaten and Mason Lund each scored 17 points for the Mustangs, which closed the game shooting 44 percent (26 of 59) from the field, including 6 of 20 from 3-point range.
 
Landon Pokorski chipped in with nine points with a pair of 3-pointers for the Mustangs while also grabbing six rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists. Braaten also pulled down six rebounds for SMSU.
 
Both teams had 34 rebounds and both committed just eight turnovers.  
 
UNK made 11 of 25 3-pointers and closed the game shooting 45 percent (29 of 64) from the field.
 
Trailing 75-71 with just over two minutes left, Mekhi Shaw brought SMSU within two points on a field goal, before Braaten tied the game with 11.9 seconds left with a pair of free throws. UNK set up for the final possession and missed a jumper with four seconds remaining but Williams caught the rebound and got off the game-winning just before the final buzzer.
 
Leading 42-41 at halftime, SMSU had a strong opening 10 minutes of the second half in building a double-digit lead. Braaten opened the half with a field goal, was followed by Brayson Boike layup before Stevens drilled a 3-pointer to give SMSU a 49-41 advantage at the 17:25 mark.
 
SMSU would later hold a 62-52 lead with 9:26 left in the game following a Stevens layup, however UNK answered with the game-deciding over the next five minutes to lead 71-67 with 4:31 on the clock.
 
UNK scored 25 points in the final nine minutes while making 9 of 16 field goals with three 3-pointers.
 
UNK opened the game scoring the first eight points and eventually held an 11-2 lead, but Pokorski stopped the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.
 
UNK, which made seven 3-pointers in the opening half, maintained the lead for the first 12 minutes before Lund converted a three-point play for the Mustangs to put SMSU in the lead for the first time at 29-27 with 7:44 remaining.
 
UNK regained the lead at 31-29, but SMSU responded with Braaten hitting a jumper and then drilling a 3-poitner in transition to give the Mustangs a 34-31 advantage.
 
Trailing 36-34 with four minutes left in the half, SMSU put together an 8-2 run capped by a pair of Braaten free throws to take its largest lead of the half at 42-38 with just over a minute remaining. UNK however came right back with another 3-pointer to cut the SMSU lead to 42-41 at halftime.
 
Stevens scored 17 points in the opening half for SMSU, while Williams scored 18 for the Lopers.
 
SMSU will have more than a week off before returning to action with its conference opener at the University of Sioux Falls on Tuesday, Nov. 25, starting at 7:30 p.m.