CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Coe College men's basketball team defeated Loras 81-78 for its second-straight victory on Wednesday evening at Kohawk Arena. The Kohawks trailed 19-18 at the 9:16 mark of the first half but flipped the script and led for the remainder of the contest to pick up win number five in the league. Coe improves to 10-7 overall and 5-3 in the A-R-C while Loras drops to 11-6 and 4-4 in the A-R-C.
 
Austin Roth bounced back after a tough game against Wartburg, leading the Kohawks with 19 points, three assists, two rebounds and one steal. Tommy Hook had another solid game, pitching in 14 points, three boards, two steals and one assist while fellow guard Josh Schmitt finished with 14 points, three boards, two assists and one block. Jarad Kruse also provided key minutes for Coe when it was in early foul trouble, scoring 13 points while adding three rebounds, one assist and one block. 
 
Both teams had a solid start to the contest, trading baskets for the opening seven minutes of the game. Coe retook a one-point lead after Jared Kruse hit a 3 but Loras then scored four-straight to flip the lead back in its favor at 14-11. Zach Niemeyer answered on the other end with a 3 of his own to tie the game at 14 while sparking a 9-5 Kohawk run which vaulted them into a 23-19 with 8:40 to play in the first half. 
 
Loras cut into the lead with a 3 from Rowan McGowen but again the Kohawks ripped off a 6-1 lead over the next 2:36 to stretch their lead to 29-23 with 4:09 left in the first period. Loras ended the run with a pair of free throws but Kruse responded on the other end with a layup to keep the Duhawks at a comfortable distance just over three minutes left in the half. The squads would then trade blows for the remainder of the half with Loras hitting two free throws to end the first-half as Coe led 39-32 at the break. 
 
The Duhawks showed energy in the early moments of the second half, ripping off a 9-2 run to get within one point of the Coe lead at 42-41 but Coe remained poised and settled into the final 20 minutes. The Kohawks and Duhawks then traded buckets for nearly six and a half minutes as Loras tied the score at 53 with a layup from Ben Burkholder. TJ Kaufmann then answered with a four-point play on the ensuing possession to energize Coe and the crowd inside Kohawk Arena. The back-and-forth action continued for the next three-plus minutes as the Kohawks could not pull away from Loras, which got within three points at the 5:17 mark of the half after free throws from Jake Healy. 
 
Again, Coe showed comfort with the lead, running its offense while putting together a game-clinching 7-1 stretch which pushed the lead to nine with just under four minutes to play. Loras continued to pressure Coe but the Duhawks could not get any closer to the Kohawk lead thanks to some clutch free throws down the strech. 
 
Up next: Coe returns to action this weekend with another home game in the league with a matchup against Central at 4:00 p.m. at Kohawk Arena. 
 
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