LINCOLN, Neb. - Even though junior guard Jimmy Villalobos logged a career-high 36 points, the Westminster Blue Jays fell to the host Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves in their second game of the NWU Snyder Classic on Saturday.
Westminster (2-2) faced a 54-42 deficit at halftime. The Blue Jays trailed 95-87 with 3 minutes, 12 seconds left. Westminster then outscored Nebraska Wesleyan (5-0) 13-8 over the next 3 minutes. That stretch ended when Villalobos made a 3-pointer with :03 seconds left to bring the Blue Jays within three points.
Nate Schimonitz made a free throw to extend Nebraska Wesleyan's advantage to 104-100 with :01 second remaining. Sophomore guard Cody Shaw made a 3-pointer as time expired.
"The positive that we need to take from tonight is that we found out just how hard we have to play to stay in close games," Westminster head coach Matt Mitchell said. "We expect to be in close games night in and night out when we start league play, so this was a positive experience moving forward."
Villalobos paced four Blue Jays in double figures. Junior center Sean O'Brien scored 18 points as Westminster shot 52 percent (40-of-77) from the floor. Junior forward Romo Tabb recorded a double-double when he scored 16 points and brought down 12 rebounds - which helped Westminster take a 41-39 advantage on the boards. Shaw came up with 11 points.
"Jimmy was obviously a big part of the game tonight, but credit also goes to the others who recognized Jimmy was hot," Mitchell said. "It was a full team effort to get back into the game defensively. We are very encouraged entering league play Wednesday."
Jack Hiller directed five Prairie Wolves in double figures with 25 points as Nebraska Wesleyan shot 53 percent (34-of-64). Schimonitz totaled 22 points, while Cooper Cook tallied 20, Ryan Garver recorded 15 and Deion Wells-Ross had 12.
Westminster plays its first St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game of the season during its home opener against Fontbonne at 8 p.m. Wednesday.