Box Score DECORAH, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team suffered a 65-64 loss to Luther College on Wednesday evening despite a dominant second-half effort. The Kohawks fell behind early in the game, trailing Luther for a majority of the opening half. The Norse turned up the tempo late in the first, getting a late 10-5 stretch to take a 43-31 lead into the break. Coe answered immediately out of the locker room, using a 16-5 run to pull within one point of the Norse lead. The squads traded buckets for the remainder of the game but Luther converted a game-winning jumper with less than one second remaining on the clock. Cael Schmitt, John Steffen and Greg Hall led the Kohawk offense, scoring 13, 12 and 10 points respectively. Schmitt and Bennett Sherry were active on the defensive end, recording four steals each while TJ Schnurr blocked five shots, a new career high. The loss drops Coe to 11-8 overall and 5-5 in the A-R-C while Luther improves to 5-13 on the year and 2-8 in the league. 
 
GAME FACTS:
LUTHER 65 - COE 64

• Steffen opened the scoring for Coe, converting on a jumper just over a minute into the contest to give the visitors the lead. Luther answered, scoring seven-straight points in the next two minutes to settle into the contest. The Kohawks controlled the following two minutes of action, outscoring the Norse 11-6 en route to tying the game at 13. The hosts heated up on offense in the next few moments, ripping off a 13-5 stretch which saw the Norse go up 26-18 with 9:24 left in the half. 
• Coe and Luther traded buckets for a nearly four-minute stretch, but the Kohawks pulled within seven on a 3 from Schmitt. The Norse put together a strong close to the half, using a 10-5 run to extend their lead to 43-31 with 20 minutes in the books. 
• The Kohawks exploded out of the halftime break, outscoring Luther 11-3 in the first four-plus minutes to pull within four. Steffen and Hall led the charge, scoring five points each which included a 3 from both. Luther slowed the run momentarily with a layup but the spurt continued as Coe scored seven of the next nine points to trail 50-49 with 11:55 to play. 
• Tyson Gage then gave Coe its first lead since early in the first half, converting a layup to make it 51-50 after nearly three minutes of scoreless action. Coe continued to lead over the next period of the half, slightly outscoring Luther 8-7 to hold a 59-57 lead with 5:04 to play. The squads then traded buckets for the final few minutes but Luther went on a 6-2 run late in the frame to lead 63-61 with 1:14 to play. The Kohawks momentarily regained the lead on the next possession, getting a go-ahead 3 from Schmitt as the shot clock expired. Luther took the lead for good on its final chance, hitting a corner jumper with less than one second remaining on the clock.  

Up next: Coe is back in action this weekend, heading to Central College for a road conference game at 4 PM on Saturday, January 28. 
 
#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