The Hastings men opened the second half on a 13-2 run to overcome a 11-point halftime deficit, then held on as Nebraska Wesleyan missed a game-winning 3-point attempt in the final seconds to give Hastings College a 56-53 victory over NWU in GPAC men's basketball action Wednesday night (Feb. 4) at Lynn Farrell Arena.

NWU has now dropped six straight games and 12 of their last 14 to fall to 8-12 overall and 4-9 in the GPAC. The Broncos got back to .500 overall at 13-13, and move to 8-6 in the GPAC.

It was a great first half for Nebraska Wesleyan as they led by as many as 13 points in the first 20 minutes. NWU held Hastings to just 33.3 percent shooting and 1-7 from 3-point range to build up a 34-23 lead at halftime.

However, the Broncos came out fast and furious in the second half and began to wear down the Prairie Wolves. In less than four minutes, the Broncos had surged out to a 13-2 run to tie the game at 36-36 at the 16:24 mark.

NWU held off Hastings and did not allow them to take over the lead. With 7:59 to play, Brent McNurlin hit a 3-pointer to put Hastings up 43-42 giving them their first lead since the 15:28 mark when they led 8-6.

The Broncos would outscore NWU, 14-2, over a seven minute stretch of the second half when the Prairie Wolves would go 1-12 from the field.

Hastings led 50-42 with 5:28 to play and looked as if they had taken control of the game. The Prairie Wolves showed again that they never give up and they battled back hard. NWU allowed Hastings just two points over the final 3:18 of the game to give them a chance to win.

Down 54-50, Brandon Arp hit a huge 3-point basket to cut the lead down to one point with 1:08 to play. On Hastings' next possesion, Nick Dinan stole the ball away from Waid Vontz and Arp was off on a fast break. Arp got out of control and turned the ball over underneath the NWU basket.

NWU fouled right away, sending Jeremiah Slough to the line for a one-and-one. Slough missed the front end, giving NWU a chance at the lead. On the final possession, the Prairie Wolves penetrated the lane and kicked out the ball to Dinan who had an open look at a 3-point shot. The shot went in and out, and the ball landed out of bounds off an NWU player giving the ball to Hastings with 1.8 seconds to play. Vontz was fouled and hit both free throws to seal the Broncos win.

Arp was the lone NWU player to reach double figures as he led the team with 17 points and seven rebounds. As a team, NWU shot only 35.5 percent from the floor and 26.9 percent in the second half.

Brett McNurlin had a huge game for Hastings posting a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds, shooting 4-9 from 3-point range.

NWU will look to end their current six-game losing streak when they travel to Mount Marty College on Saturday afternoon in Yankton, S.D. Mount Marty has lost five straight games.