CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team shot 62.1 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from downtown en route to a 103-75 victory over the sixth-seeded Wartburg Knights on Thursday evening. The victory moves the Kohawks to 17-9 overall while the Knights end the year 12-15 overall. 
 
Five Kohawks eclipsed double-figures in the game as Josh Schmitt led the way with 18 points, four assists, three steals and two blocks. Adam McDermott, Austin Roth, Tommy Hook and Jarad Kruse also hit the mark with McDermott and Roth posting 15-points while Hook and Kruse totaled 12 points. As a team, Coe hit 12-of-27 from deep while converting 36-of-58 of its field goals, shooting its second-best percentage of the year. 
 
Coe had an excellent start to the third matchup between the teams, ripping off a quarter-opening 8-0 run which featured buckets from Hook, McDermott and Schmitt. Wartburg finally got on the board thanks to an old-fashioned 3-point play that kick-started a 9-6 outburst, allowing the Knights to cut the deficit to just five points. The Wartburg run continued throughout the next three minutes of play as the Knights scored 13 of the next 19 points to hold a two-point lead with 12:01 left in the half. 
 
The Kohawks got back on track during the next two possessions, getting back-to-back 3s from TJ Kaufmann and Jarad Kruse as well as a bucket from Jacob Robertson to retake a slim lead at 28-22. Coe's dominance remained following a pair of Wartburg free throws as it then put together a 13-7 spurt to stretch its lead to 11 points with just over five minutes left in the opening period. Despite its largest deficit of the game, Wartburg showed no panic, opening up a 12-2 barrage that instantly erased Coe's lead with 2:25 left in the first. Although Wartburg held the momentum, the Kohawks immediately responded, scoring nine of the final 13 points of the half to hold a seven-point lead at the break. 
 
Once again, Coe had a strong opening to the half, scoring seven of the first ten points in the period to extend its lead to 11 at 59-48. The Kohawks finally cooled off from the floor as the game broke out into back-and-forth action with Coe holding a 69-59 lead with just over 15 minutes to play. After a few minutes of offensive struggles, the Kohawks heated up again, ripping off a 15-2 run which featured back-to-back 3s from Zach Niemeyer and a long-ball from TJ Kaufmann. Following the run, Coe led 84-61 with 8:23 left in the contest essentially putting the contest out of reach for Wartburg. The Knights continued to fight for the remainder of the contest but they were unable to cut further into the Coe lead. 
 
Up next: Coe will continue its postseason run with a matchup at Nebraska Wesleyan on Saturday, February 29 at 7 p.m.
 
#KohawkNation
Visit https://kohawkathletics.com/ for complete coverage of Coe College Athletics
Like Coe College Athletics on Facebook
Follow @CoeAthletics on Twitter
Follow @CoeAthletics on Instagram
Coe Athletics Mobile App - Android | iPhone