Nebraska Wesleyan began its holiday trip to Texas with a 74-71 victory over Southwestern University on Tuesday afternoon (Dec. 28) in NCAA III men's basketball action in Georgetown, Texas.

NWU has now won two straight games to even their overall record a 5-5 on the season. The Prairie Wolves will conclude their Texas road trip by battling Trinity University on Wednesday night.

After leading by five points at halftime, the Prairie Wolves led the entire second half and withstood a late Southwestern rally for the win. NWU led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but Southwestern made a charge and had an attempt to tie the game.

Nick Caputo hit a 3-pointer for Southwestern to pull them within two points at 73-71 with nine seconds left. A foul sent Nick Dinan to the free throw line and Dinan converted 1-2 free throws to extend the lead to three points.

Southwestern had a chance on the final possession, but Caputo's 3-point field goal missed and NWU got the win.

In the first half the Prairie Wolves trailed 12-10 before going on a 15-2 run to build an 11-point advantage.

Bryce Arp was the game's leading scorer as he had 22 points on 8-13 shooting from the floor and 6-9 at the free throw line. The other player to reach double figures was freshman Eric Jackson who scored 15 points, hitting 3-6 from 3-point range. Andy Schweitzer and Nick Dinan both added nine points for NWU.

Four players scored in double figures for Southwestern led by Logan Hurley with 17 points.