Box Score

KEARNEY, Neb. - A shorthanded Metro State men's basketball team fell 82-78 at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.  The loss dropped the Roadrunners out of first place in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and to 18-5 overall and 15-4 in the RMAC.  UNK improved to 10-13 overall and 8-11.

The Roadrunners had just seven players dressed for the second straight game due to injuries to two starters and finished the game with five players after two fouled out.

Shakir Johnson (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey H.S.) scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.  Reggie Evans (Aurora, Colo./Rangeview H.S.) added 17 points and a team-high seven rebounds.  Brandon Jefferson (Flower Mound, Texas/Lewisville H.S.) scored 16 and #A.J. Flournoy# had 12.  Jefferson also had five assists and Flournoy added six rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jonathan Morse (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) chipped in with nine points and Glenn Miller (Sacramento, Calif./Foothill H.S.) had six.

UNK shot lights out, hitting 55.6 percent from the floor and 8-of-13 (.615) from the outside.  The Lopers also made 24-of-28 (.857) at the line in a game that had 46 fouls called.  Metro State stayed in the game by committing just five turnovers.

Kearney got off to a hot start, leading by 15 points midway through the first half at 20-5.  Two free throws by Flournoy capped a 22-7 run that tied the game at 27-27 with 57 seconds left in the first half.  UNK went into the break up 31-29.

The Lopers built a 10-point lead with 4:30 left in the game.  Trailing by six with two minutes left, Johnson got going offensively.  He finished a 3-point play with 1:30 left and then made a layup on the following possession to cut the lead to 77-76 with 47 seconds left.

Jefferson forced a steal on UNK's next possession, but the Roadrunners came up empty-handed on their end.  Michael Vandahl stretched the deficit to two points by hitting 1-of-2 at the line with 16 seconds left.  Another Roadrunner miss allowed the Lopers to cap the game by hitting 4-of-4 at the line in the final 12 seconds.

Metro State will host Western New Mexico at 7 p.m. on Friday.