LINCOLN, Neb. - The Coe College men's basketball team began its postseason tournament run with an extensive 78-60 victory at third-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan on Tuesday evening. The Kohawks, who took down the Prairie Wolves in their final regular season contest last Saturday, dominated the contest from the opening whistle. The visitors shot 53 percent in the initial half, building a 40-20 lead in the first 20 minutes. Coe withstood the comeback attempts from the hosts in the second half, fending off numerous efforts from the Prairie Wolves. The Kohawks put an exclamation point on the contest late in the second half, ending the game on an 18-9 run to end any doubts.
Cael Schmitt and
TJ Schnurr continued to lead the way for Coe's offense, scoring 20 points each while combining to shoot 50 percent from the floor.
Greg Hall reached double-digits for the fourth-consecutive contest, adding 13 points, six of which came on long-distance jumpers. With the win, Coe improves 14-12 overall and advances into the A-R-C semifinals while Nebraska Wesleyan finishes the season 16-10.
GAME FACTS:
#6 COE 78 - #3 NWU 60
- Schnurr started his night right from the opening whistle, converting a jumper to open the scoring. NWU came back with two-straight buckets to grab its first lead at 4-2. The Kohawks exploded over the next six minutes and change, putting together an impressive 20-4 run that featured seven points from Schnurr and six from Schmitt. Coe's defense also stood out during the big stretch, holding NWU to just 1-of-7 shooting while forcing a pair of turnovers.
- The Prairie Wolves settled back down after the big run, exchanging points with Coe but the hosts were unable to trim the lead to less than 10 with the visitors in front 28-16. The Kohawks struck again with just over five minutes left in the half, outscoring the P-Wolves 12-4 in the final moment to make the score 40-20. The Kohawk defense again dominated the stretch, forcing NWU to shoot 2-of-8 from the floor and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc.
- Coe continued to click on offense at the beginning of the second half, opening with a slim 7-6 advantage to end any hopes of a quick start for NWU. The Prairie Wolves did close the gap slightly over the following seven minutes, outscoring the Kohawks 25-13 to draw within nine points with 7:15 left to play.
- The Kohawks ended any comeback hopes over the next three-plus minutes, answering with a 10-5 run to restore a 14-point advantage. Jackson Bowman began the run with a crucial 3-pointer following a steal from Cooper Nailor and Greg Hall capped off the run with a 3 to give Coe some breathing room. Coe converted some clutch free throws down the stretch, putting the game on ice as Schmitt and Josh Schloe helped send Coe into the next round.
Up next: The Kohawks A-R-C Tournament run continues on Thursday, February 23, traveling to Dubuque for the semifinals at 7 PM.
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