PELLA, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team got back to winning ways on Saturday afternoon with an 83-65 victory at Central College. The Kohawks, who were guided by
Cael Schmitt and his 19 points, led nearly wire to wire and pulled away in the second half to secure the league victory. Coe held a narrow four-point advantage heading into the half but 54.5 percent shooting from the floor allowed the Kohawks to cruise to the victory. The result moves Coe to 9-2 overall and 3-1 in the A-R-C while Central drops to 3-7 on the season and 0-3 in league action.
Schmitt, who finished one-point shy of tying his season-high, was 7-of-14 from the floor and 3-of-6 from downtown while adding three assists in the game.
Sam Auen also had a solid offensive day, scoring 13 points while going 4-of-6 from the floor and a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond as the senior added two assists and two steals.
John Steffen played a season-high 17 minutes in the victory on Saturday, eclipsing double-figures for the first time in his Coe career as he added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting while posting a pair of steals on the defensive end.
Jarad Kruse also hit the double-figure mark in the victory, registering 10 points and nine rebounds as the senior forward was 5-of-11 from the floor while adding two assists.
COE 83 - CENTRAL 66
Game Facts
- Coe and Central battled back-and-forth in the opening five minutes of the game but five early points from Schmitt had the Kohawks in front 7-6 with 15:01 left in the first. After two-plus minutes of scoreless action, Coe got a bucket from Ray Thrapp to make it 9-6 until a free throw from the Dutch made it 9-7. The back-and-forth action continued for much of the first period but Central grabbed a one-point lead with 7:15 remaining in the half.
- The Kohawks then scored eight of the next 13 points to quickly retake a 3-point lead as Jacob Robertson hit a clutch 3 to make it 29-25 with 4:34 left in the first. Central cut Coe's lead to just one late in the first half on a 3 with less than 10 seconds to play but Schmitt responded before the buzzer, hitting a 3 to send Coe into the break with a four-point advantage.
- Central hit a 3 immediately out of the half-time break to make the score 36-35 but the Kohawks responded with a 10-2 spurt which featured 3s from Auen and Schmitt as the pair helped the visitors grab a 46-37 lead with 17:36 to play. The Dutch momentarily stopped the run with a jumper to make it 46-39 but the Kohawks continued to click, ripping off a 19-4 run before the 11-minute mark to stretch their lead past 20-points.
- The lead increased over the next few minutes for Coe as John Steffen converted an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 70-47 to ice the contest for the Kohawks. The visitors showed poise over the final moments of the game as Central only managed to get within 16 points of the Coe's lead down the stretch.
Up next: Coe will return to the court on Wednesday, December 15 when it hosts local-rival Cornell College in a non-conference game at 7:30 PM.
#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
