Nebraska Wesleyan trailed by three points with the ball and 32 seconds remaining in the game, but a turnover on a pass underneath the basket gave Briar Cliff the basketball and they hit 3-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds to seal a 66-62 victory over the Prairie Wolves in GPAC men's basketball action on Wednesday night (Jan. 16) at Snyder Arena in Lincoln.

NWU drops it fourth straight game to fall below .500 for the first time this season at 8-9 overall, 3-9 in GPAC play, while Briar Cliff wins their sixth straight to move to 16-5, 7-4 GPAC.

Things looked bleak for the Prairie Wolves late as they trailed by eight points with 2:00 remaining. A made layup by Trevor Johnson, BCU turnover and made layup by Byron Thompson pulled NWU within four at 63-59 with 1:00 left. On the Chargers next possession, they turned the ball over again and Thompson was fouled with 32 seconds left. He hit the first of two free throws then Johnson grabbed the offensive board to give NWU the ball down 63-60.

After a timeout, Tim Schweitzer drove the lane and tried to connect with Johnson under the basket but the pass went out of bounds and BCU took over.

The game was still in doubt as Zach Otting hit just 1-2 at the foul line and Eric Jackson made a layup for NWU to make the score 64-62 with 3.9 seconds left. On the inbounds pass, Michael Collison was fouled and he calmly hit 2-2 free throws for the win.

Nebraska Wesleyan got in a hole late in the first half as the game was tied 28-28 with 3:24 remaining but Briar Cliff closed the half on a 8-1 run to hold a seven point lead at the break.

Briar Cliff maintained the lead to start the half, but NWU chipped away and finally tied the game on a basket by Sass Karemae with 12:42 left. They took the lead with 11:16 to play on a Jackson layup, but BCU answered on their next possession and never trailed again.

Four players scored in double figures for Briar Cliff led by Jake Shipley with 17 points and nine rebounds. Taylor Murren and Turner Fahey each scored 12, with Zach Otting scoring 10.

For Nebraska Wesleyan, the Prairie Wolves went the entire game without a made 3-pointer going 0-12 from beyond the arc. They also shot 14-26 at the free throw line, but BCU was not much better at 17-30.

A big stat was rebounding where the Chargers held a 42-35 advantage with 11 offensive rebounds.

Tim Schweitzer led the Prairie Wolves with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Trevor Johnson added 10.