CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team knocked off Buena Vista on Saturday afternoon at Kohawk Arena, using a strong second half to pull off the comeback victory over the Beavers. Buena Vista jumped out in front in the first half, holding Coe to just 29 percent shooting in the period. The Kohawks came to life in the second frame to pull off the come-from-behind win, shooting 41 percent from 3 and 39 percent overall while holding the Beavers to just 1-of-8 on long-distance attempts. The victory is Coe's sixth in a row and moves the Kohawks to 17-5 overall and 9-4 in the A-R-C while Buena Vista falls to 11-11 and 8-5 in league play.
Four Kohawks reached double-figures in the win but junior guard
Greg Hall led the team with 19 points off the bench. Hall, who played 19 minutes of game time, notched his career-high thanks to some hot shooting as he was 6-of-8 from the floor and 5-of-6 from beyond. Hall led a charge late in the first period to keep Coe within striking distance, hitting four 3s in a six-minute span to help keep the Kohawks in the game.
Jarad Kruse finished with 12 points, shooting just 4-of-17 but the senior hit a pair of clutch 3s in the second half during Coe's comeback.
Cael Schmitt and
TJ Schnurr also joined Hall and Kruse in double-digits as the pair each posted 10 points. Schmitt finished with a team-high seven assists compared to just one turnover while Schnurr pulled down nine boards to lead the squad.
COE 65 - BUENA VISTA 62
Game Facts
- The visitors started the first half well, scoring eight of the opening 10 points in the period to grab the early advantage. The Kohawks answered during the next three minutes of action, ripping off a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to one point. Buena Vista regained control of the game during the next six-plus minutes, going on a 9-3 run to stretch the lead to 19-12. Coe struggled on offense during the spurt, shooting just 1-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-3 from deep.
- Hall came off the bench for the Kohawks and immediately made an impact, leading Coe on a 14-8 run during which Hall hit four 3s. The Hall-fueled run lasted over six minutes as the Kohawks cut the Beaver lead to one point with 2:16 to play in the half. The visitors stayed calm despite the big run from the Kohawks, scoring six unanswered points to end the first half with a 30-23 lead.
- The Beavers and Kohawks went back-and-forth in the first few minutes of the second half but Coe got four-straight points from Kruse to cut the deficit to six. Buena Vista continued to answer, getting an 8-4 run during the next three-plus minutes of action to push its lead back to double-digits at 45-35.
- Kruse ended the run on the ensuing possession for the Kohawks, hitting a clutch 3 to kickstart the offense. Coe then got a 10-2 spurt over a three-minute span, getting six points from Schnurr and another long-ball from Hall as Coe took a one-point lead with 8:51 to play. The back-and-forth action continued over the next few moments but a 3 from Jake Thompson gave BVU a one-point lead at the 4:45 mark.
- The Kohawks then got back-to-back 3s from Kruse and Ray Thrapp as the seniors helped swing the momentum and score in favor of Coe which led 61-56 with 3:53 to play. The Beavers continued to scrap, scoring six of the next eight points to cut the Kohawk lead to one with just over a minute to play. After a pair of scoreless possessions, Schmitt was fouled and sent to the line where he hit a pair of freebies to put Coe ahead 65-62 with 10 seconds to play. Buena Vista called timeout and drew up a play out of the break but Coe managed to play solid defense, forcing a contested 3 which came up empty for BVU.
Up next: Coe is back in action on Wednesday evening when it heads to the University of Dubuque for a matchup with the Spartans 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
