DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Coe College men's basketball team advanced to the A-R-C Tournament Championship game on Thursday evening, defeating the University of Dubuque 78-73 in a semifinal matchup. The Kohawks, who were again paced by
TJ Schnurr and
Cael Schmitt on offense, acted as frontrunners throughout the game, leading for nearly 33 minutes of action. The teams went toe-to-toe early on, trading points in the opening minutes however a strong stretch in the middle of the first period gave Coe a 10-point lead at 29-19. UD settled back in before the end of the period but were unable to cut into the deficit, seeing the visitors take a 44-31 lead into the locker room. The hosts came out strong in the second, opening with a 10-4 run to close the gap to 48-41. Coe and UD then exchanged buckets for a long stretch of time with the sixth-seeded Kohawks managing to cling to a multi-possession advantage. The back-and-forth action lasted for the remainder of the game but Coe got some clutch buckets in the final five minutes, including 3s from Schmitt and
Bennett Sherry which kept their team in front for good. Schmitt became the 19th player in Coe men's basketball history to reach 1,000 career points during the game and finished with 20 points, four assists, two steals and just one turnover in 37 minutes of action. Schnurr had a team-high 22 points, falling just one board short of a double-double and adding three dimes.
John Steffen was the third Kohawk to hit double-figures on the evening, registering 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting. With the win, Coe improves to 15-12 overall while UD ends the year with a 19-7 record.
GAME FACTS:
#6 COE 78 - #2 UD 73
- The teams were neck-and-neck in the early minutes of the first half, trading blows in the initial possessions. Coe took control of the contest just over six minutes in, beginning a strong scoring run with back-to-back buckets from Schmitt and Tyson Gage. UD put a temporary hold on the spurt with a layup but Coe responded with eight unanswered featuring 3s from Schmitt and Schnurr and a layup from Tre McCrary. The hosts fought back with a quick five-point run, slicing the deficit to 22-19 with 9:41 left in the first.
- Coe again ripped off a dominant run, scoring seven in a row over the next three-plus minutes to extend its advantage to 29-19. The Kohawks struck again a few minutes later following an exchange of buckets, ripping off three-straight 3s as Brady Klahn, Schmitt and Steffen converted from deep to make it 40-23. UD buckled down prior to the end of the first, outscoring Coe 8-4 in the final 1:42 to draw within 13 points at the break.
- Dubuque came out strong in the second half, quickly outscoring Coe 10-4 in the first five minutes to get back within seven. Both squads settled back in the following minutes of action, exchanging blows throughout a six-minute period as Coe held on to its slim lead. UD cut the deficit to four on a dunk with 8:11 to play but the visitors answered, scoring six of the next eight points to push the lead back to eight with 5:36 left.
- The Spartans continued to ask questions of the Kohawks, trimming the margin to six on the following possession with a 3. UD got even closer two minutes later, going on an 8-2 run in under two minutes to pull within one of the lead with 2:37 to play. Schmitt came up with the biggest bucket of the game on the next possession, hitting a massive 3 after Coe's second offensive rebound of the sequence. Schmitt hit another jumper with 49 seconds on the clock, pushing the lead back to six points and ending any comeback chances for the Spartans as the Kohawks secured the win.
Up next: Coe will take on fourth-seeded Loras College in the A-R-C Championship game on Saturday, February 25 in Dubuque, Iowa at 7 PM.
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