Nebraska Wesleyan got the 2012-13 season off to a great start by posting two convincing victories at the River Forest Classic in River Forest, Illinois over the weekend. NWU downed Concordia-Chicago, 79-50, in the opener Friday night (Nov. 16) then rolled past the host school, Dominican University, 68-45 on Saturday afternoon.

Offensively, the Prairie Wolves were hot from the field as NWU shot 58.3 percent combined in the two victories.

On Friday against Concordia, the Prairie Wolves came out firing on all cylinders in the first half hitting 63.0 percent from the field to build up a 42-19 lead. The Cougars got some momentum built up in the second half and closed the lead down to eight points with 9:56 left.

NWU then scored 12 unanswered points to get the lead back up to 20 points and would cruise the rest of the way.

Nebraska Wesleyan shot 63.8 percent as team, including 10-14 from 3-point range. Eric Jackson led the way with 18 points on 6-8 shooting. Trevor Johnson was 7-8 with 16 points, while freshman Trey Bardsley came off the bench to score 12 in his first collegiate games.

On Saturday, the Prairie Wolves closed the first half on a 17-6 run to lead by 15 at intermission. NWU held Dominican to just 7-25 shooting, while hitting 51.9 on their end.

The Prairie Wolves got up 20 early in the second half then cruised the rest of the way. Jonah Bradley led NWU with 13 points. Trent Scheitel came off the bench to score 12, while Bardsley chipped in 10.

NWU will have their home opener on Tuesday (Nov. 20) when they open conference play against Concordia University.