CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Coe College men's basketball team fought to the end but came up just short in an 84-78 loss to #7 Nebraska Wesleyan. Coe and NWU battled back-and-forth throughout the contest, trading slim leads throughout. The Prairie Wolves took control late in the second half behind a 17-3 spurt which included nine points from top-scorer Nate Schimonitz and six from Jack Hiller. The loss moves the Kohawks to 12-8 overall and 7-4 in the A-R-C and snaps a four-game winning streak which dated back to the initial matchup with the Prairie Wolves in January. NWU improves to 19-2 overall while remaining undefeated in the league at 12-0. 
 
Josh Schmitt led the Kohawks with 18 points while hitting a season-high six 3s and adding two rebounds and two assists. Austin Roth recorded 16 points, seven assists, six rebounds and two blocks while playing 37 minutes. Jacob Robertson and Jarad Kruse provided solid contributions for the Kohawks, adding 13 points, two rebounds and two assists each. Despite shooting just 2-of-8 from the floor, senior Adam McDermott record a season-high seven assists while adding five boards for Coe. 
 
Both teams were revved up from the opening tip after NWU picked up a narrow six-point victory in the first contest as the squads traded buckets for the opening few minutes of play. Back-to-back buckets from Roth thrust Coe back into the lead at 9-8 with 14:32 left in the first stanza. Schmitt then responded for Coe with back-to-back 3s to keep the momentum in its favor but the Prairie Wolves ripped off an 8-5 stretch over the next 4:44 to retake an 18-17 with just under nine minutes to play in the half. 
 
The Kohawks immediately regained momentum on the next two possessions as TJ Kaufmann came in from the bench and hit back-to-back 3s to give Coe a 23-18 lead with 7:56 left in the opening half. NWU again responded, scoring five-straight points to square the contest at 23 but the Kohawks outscored them 10-9 for the remainder of the period to take a 33-32 lead into the break. 
 
The Prairie Wolves opened the second quarter on fire, putting together a 10-4 run in the first 2:10 of play to flip the score and take a 42-37 lead. Coe showed no fear despite NWU flexing its muscle as the Kohawks then scored the next 10 points of the contest to hold a 47-42 advantage with 14:26 to play. The back-and-forth action was steady as this time NWU ripped off a 17-3 outburst over the next 4:40 of action to control a 59-50 lead, its largest of the game. 
 
The Kohawks continued to battle down the stretch, scoring six-straight points to get back within three but the Prairie Wolves stayed hot on offense getting 3s from Schmionitz and Cordell Gillingham to keep their lead intact. After a few minutes of trading buckets, Coe trailed 76-69 with 3:16 to play but a 3 from Schmitt got them to within four points of the lead. Following empty possessions from Coe, NWU turned to its main man, as Schimonitz connected on a mid-range jumper and two free throws, extending its lead with 50 seconds to play and icing the game.
 
Up next: Coe continues A-R-C play this weekend when it travels to Dubuque for a matchup with Loras College on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in the second matchup of the year. 
 
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