By Bob Hamar
bob.hamar@theindependent.com

A win would clinch a first-round Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Tournament home game for the Lopers. A loss and they could have been headed for Silver City, N.M., to play Western New Mexico.

"That is 1,048 miles, because I drove it last year," Kropp said.

It appears the Lopers didn't want to make that trip either. Jeremy Cruise poured in a career-high 27 points and Drake Beranek had 25 to lead the Lopers to a 106-94 victory over the Mountain Lions.

The win moves UNK to 15-12 on the season and 13-6 in RMAC play. The Lopers will host a first-round RMAC Tournament game at 8 p.m. Friday against an opponent that was to be determined late Saturday night.

"This was a big game for us because if we wouldn't have won, we probably would have had to have gone to Western New Mexico or Adams State which is a long trip," Beranek said. "We're going to practice hard, get ready for the tournament and see if we can shake some things up in there."

Beranek, who tied his career high with 16 rebounds, dished out seven assists as well. Several of those went to Cruise who spotted up behind the 3-point line to drain 6 of 11 attempts from long range.

"This morning at our shoot-around I didn't feel very good at all, so I was sort of wondering," the freshman from St. Edward said. "During warm-ups today I was off and on, and that's usually a good sign. Usually when I'm way on in warm-ups it's going to be a bad night, and when I'm way off it's somewhat of a good night."

Cruise has come on strong late in the season. Kropp said his play has been a huge lift for the Lopers.

"Tonight they were playing a zone," Kropp said. "He got some good open looks and fortunately for us, he really stepped up. In his last eight games, he's probably averaging about 18 points a game."

The Mountain Lions, who four games ago changed their game to a more up-tempo attack, went to a triangle-and-two to start the second half with one player on Beranek and one on Cruise.

That meant it was time for sophomore Jeff Martin to take over. He did just that with two straight 3-pointers that and three in span of two minutes early in the second half.

"They were letting Jeff Martin go," Kropp said. "At a certain point it's time for Jeff Martin to step up. He was 1-for-8. I was keeping track of it. Then their coach all of a sudden made a smart move. If that guy is 1-for-8, I'm going to make him beat us.

"When you're 1-for-8, I don't care who you are. I don't care if you're Ray Allen, you don't feel that good. That's when he really stepped up for us. I give him a lot of credit."

The Lopers played just six players in the game, and five of those scored in double figures. Martin had 20, Josiah Parker 19 and Garrett Lever 15 to go along with Cruise and Beranek.

Cruise, who played on St. Edward's Class D-2 state championship team last season, said he likes an up-tempo style of play.

"We only play five or six guys, but fast-paced games are sort of my favorite since I'm not really a tall guy," Cruise said. "In a fast-paced game I can find openings."

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY 106, UC-COLORADO SPRINGS 94

UC-COLORADO SPRINGS (10-17, 6-13)

Ziemer 5-10 0-0 11, Fuller 12-16 3-4 32, McClung 4-10 2-2 11, Perkins 8-14 0-0 17, Fernandez 1-3 2-4 5, Thomas 2-12 0-0 4, McCollum 5-8 1-2 13, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 37-73 8-12 94.

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (15-12, 13-6)

Lever 2-7 11-12 15, Cruise 9-14 3-4 27, Martin 5-14 6-6 20, Beranek 8-16 7-8 25, Parker 9-11 1-1 19, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-62 28-31 106

Half UNK 47, UCCS 39. 3-Point goals UCCS 12-30 (Fuller 5-8, McCollum 2-2, Fernandez 1-2, Perkins 1-3, Ziemer 1-5, McClung 1-5, Thomas 1-5). UNK 12-29 (Cruise 6-11, Martin 4-10, Beranek 2-6, Lever 0-2). Fouled out None. Rebounds UCCS 35 (Perkins 7). UNK 35 (Beranek 16). Assists UCCS 17 (Perkins 4). UNK 27 (Lever 10). Turnovers UCCS 18, UNK 18. Total fouls UCCS 20, UNK 12. Technicals None.

* women

UNK 82, UCCS 67

Nebraska-Kearney tied a school record with its 25th win of the season Saturday, but the Lopers weren't too impressed after their 82-67 victory over Colorado-Colorado Springs.

"I told the kids in the locker room and it didn't even seem to faze them," UNK coach Carol Russell said. "You know we've had one goal all year. When you have such a big goal, little milestones along the way don't get celebrated as much as they should.

"It's pretty big for this program. I'm excited for our girls. They've worked hard all year."

The Lopers got 20 points from Jade Meads and 17 from Melissa Hinkley to improve to 24-5 and 17-2 in RMAC play. Colorado-Colorado Springs fell to 11-19 and 5-14.

UNK struggled with its shooting in the first half making just 12 of 39 shots from the field (30.8 percent). The Lopers performed better in the second half by sinking 12 of 31 shots (38.7 percent) from the field.

Russell said the Mountain Lions' defense caused her team problems in the opening half.

"They were trying to play a triangle-and-two and our kids were a little freaked out about it," Russell said. "I just told them we have advantages against it because they ended up with major mismatches. They ended up with (Awa-Williams) on Amy Mathis inside and they ended up with (Tonya Tripp) guarding Jonni Mildenberger on the perimeter."

The Lopers, who made 30 of 39 shots from the free-throw line, will host a first-round RMAC Tournament game on Friday.

"I think we've had a pretty good season so far," Russell said. "The seniors had a good showing again tonight. Amy Mathis didn't get her points and she's been a great leader all year for us."

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY 82, UC-COLO. SPRINGS 67

UC-COLORADO SPRINGS (11-19, 5-14)

Jubic 4-9 0-0 11, Knobbe 2-7 3-4 7, Jenkins 2-10 3-4 7, Hoist 3-8 7-913, Tripp 7-15 2-4 16, Holm 0-2 0-0 0, Thornton 0-1 0-0 0, Awa-Williams 3-8 4-7 11, Lowe 1-1 0-1 2, Pitts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 19-29 67.

NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (24-5, 17-2)

Schuppe 3-5 1-1 7, Mathis 2-11 2-2 8, Hinkley 6-14 4-8 17, Meads 6-15 7-8 20, Mildenberger 2-8 3-6 7, Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Petri 1-4 1-1 3, Becker 3-10 6-6 12, Nelsen 0-0 0-0 0, Schneider 1-3 6-7 8. Totals 24-70 30-39 82.

Half UNK 36, UCCS 25. 3-Point goals UCCS 4-15 (Jubic 3-6, Awe-Williams 1-2, Knobbe 0-1, Holm 0-1, Thornton 0-1, Jenkins 0-2). UNK 4-13 (Mathis 2-6, Hinkley 1-1, Meads 1-4, Petri 0-2). Fouled out Jenkins. Rebounds UCCS 43 (Jenkins 8). UNK 53 (Hinkley 9). Assists UCCS 17 (Jubic 7). UNK 16 (Hinkley 6). Turnovers UCCS 19, UNK 12. Total fouls UCCS 26, UNK 21. Technicals None.