CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team dominated from the opening whistle in an 89-51 victory over Luther College on Wednesday evening. The Kohawks raced out to an early 38-16 lead in the first half after shooting 48 percent from the floor and 50 percent from downtown and never looked back in the second period, hitting 60 percent of its shots in the final period.
Jarad Kruse, who led Coe in scoring, tied his career-high with 28 points as the senior was 10-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-9 from deep. The win is Coe's third-straight and improves the Kohawks to 14-5 overall and 6-4 in the A-R-C while Luther falls to 5-11 overall and 2-6 in the league.
Kruse was on fire right from the jump, racking up his team-high 28 points while hitting a career-high six 3s in just 24 minutes of action.
Sam Auen was the only Kohawk in double-figures, scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-4 from downtown.
Jacob Robertson added eight points in his limited minutes, going 3-of-6 from the floor including an emphatic dunk after an alley-oop pass from
Cael Schmitt. Schmitt scored just four points, taking just four shot attempts in the game but the sophomore had a team-high six assists while directing the offense.
COE 89 - LUTHER 51
Game Facts
- Luther opened the scoring in the game just 16 seconds in, getting a jumper from Daniel Webster to grab an early lead. Coe answered with eight-straight points including 3s from Robertson and Kruse which forced Luther into an early timeout. The Norse got a bucket after the pause to cut the deficit to four but the Kohawks ripped off a 14-0 spurt over the next 6:17. During the run, TJ Schnurr had four points while Robertson and Kruse each hit another 3 to help give the hosts a 22-4 lead.
- The Norse settled into the game at the 10:40 mark of the period, outscoring the Kohawks 8-5 during the next six-plus minutes to cut their deficit to 15. Auen and Kruse helped Coe keep its foot on the gas pedal prior to the end of the half, hitting back-to-back 3s as the hosts led 38-16 after one half.
- Coe's lead continued to grow in the first few moments of the second half, scoring the first seven points of the period to make it 45-16. Despite the large deficit, Luther continued to battle, outscoring Coe 10-6 over the next three-plus minutes to draw within 25 with 15:35 remaining.
- The Kohawks took complete control of the contest during the next four minutes, using a 13-0 spurt to extend their lead to 38-points with just over 11 minutes to play. Luther and Coe then traded baskets for the remainder of the contest as the Kohawks managed the large lead en route to the victory.
Up next: The Kohawks are back in action on Saturday afternoon at Kohawk Arena for another A-R-C matchup as they host Central College at 4 PM.
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