Nebraska-Kearney Upsets Metro State In Denver
Morissaint leads Lopers to Victory
DENVER – Nothing happens exactly as it is planned. Metro State (19-6, 12-5 RMAC) came into Saturday afternoon’s matchup contending for first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. The visiting Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (12-13, 7-10 RMAC) arrived at Auraria Event Center with a poise and swagger, upsetting the Metro State Roadrunners 77-75.
Led by freshman reserve Akeem Morissaint, the Lopers’ three-point shooting played a large part in the final tally. As a team, Nebraska-Kearney made 17 of 22 shots from deep, with Morissaint draining 9 of 11 on his own. Coming off the bench, Morissaint contributed 29 points and three assists in 36 minutes of action.
It was a tale of two halves. In front of an enthusiastic and hopeful home crowd, Nebraska-Kearney overcame a nine point halftime deficit to shock the Roadrunners, who have now lost three of their last four.
Metro State played a solid first half with only three turnovers and stringent defense, going into the locker room with a 43-34 lead. Reggie Evans led the Roadrunners in the half with 15 points on 6-11 shooting.
Metro State started the game with an intense tempo, which led to the team taking twice as many shots as Nebraska-Kearney. However, the Lopers shot 8-11 from deep range, compared to the Roadrunners’ dismal one of seven.
The second half was a different story. After an early turnover that turned into a Roadrunner dunk by Reggie Evans, Nebraska-Kearney started hitting what seemed like every shot they put up. Before they knew it, Metro State’s lead had fallen to just three, up 53-50 at the 14:30 mark.
After a turnover-laden few minutes, Nebraska-Kearney tied up the game with a three pointer by Chris Deans. At this point the Lopers had gone on a 19-10 run to start the second half.
The crowd did a great job of keeping Metro State in the game, and for nearly five minutes the two teams traded off baskets and stuck neck and neck. Nebraska-Kearney took their first lead of the game following another three-pointer by Chris Deans with eight minutes left to play.
The final six minutes were mostly decided by the Lopers’ free throws. Exchanging points on both sides, the Lopers developed their largest lead of seven with just two and a half minutes remaining. Roadrunner Donte Nicholas did everything he could to get his team back in the game, contributing five of his teams’ final eight points.
Down two and following a late turnover by the Lopers, Metro State had plenty of opportunities, including two free throws by A.J. Flournoy with 9.9 seconds remaining. Unfortunately for the Roadrunner faithful, both free throws were missed and a last second tip-in effort to tie the game fell short as the buzzer sounded.
When asked about his team’s determined effort to fight through the Loper's second half momentum, Metro State Head Coach Brannon Hays said “(Nebraska-Kearney) forced us to play with a sense of urgency and they did a good job of keeping us on our heels throughout the second half. We played hard and were always in the game, but in the end they were able to close it out."
The Metro State Athletics Department dubbed the afternoon “Pack the House Night,” with a halftime program involving many past Metro State alumni and players. Nearly 1600 fans showed up for the event.
Metro State finishes up their regular season at home against Regis on Tuesday and UC-Colorado Springs on Friday.
Contact the writer at jdonnelly@milehighhoops.com.