Kearney, Neb.: Nebraska-Kearney outscored the Regis men's basketball team 46-38 to take a 31-31 halftime tie into a 77-69 defeat of the Rangers.

Regis (6-16, 3-15 RMAC) played well in the first half and following a 14-5 run midway throug the first stanza had a 24-13 lead.  Nebraska-Kearney (9-13, 7-11 RMAC) then scored the next 13 points in a little over five minutes to take a 26-24 lead.  Senior Curtis Mitchell, who finished with a game-high 30 points, scored the final seven points of the half for Regis and his free throws with one second remaining tied the score at 31 at the halftime break.

The second half began with nine ties in the first eight minutes of play before the Lopers scored nine in a row to balloon the lead to 60-50 with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.  Regis cut the lead to five, 69-64, with just 2:20 remaining and much like the first half, Mitchell scored the final nine points for Regis but this time the Lopers hit their free throws down the stretch and won 77-69.

The two teams combined for just 14 turnovers with both teams shooting well, with Regis connecting on 47.3 percent and UNK at 50.9 percent.

With the loss, the Rangers have been mathematically eliminated from the RMAC Tournament.

Mitchell connected on 10-of-21 from the field and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe.  junior guard Lance Korell chipped in with 13 points, while freshman Jon Conley came off the bench to put in 12 points.  Junior Chris Johansen had a game-high 10 rebounds with eight points.

The Rangers will finish the road portion of their 2010-11 season tomorrow night as they travel to take on Chadron State.