WAVERLY - The Wartburg men's basketball team is set to open its 2019-20 American Rivers Conference schedule this week, heading to Pella on Wednesday to face Central and Storm Lake on Saturday to match up against Buena Vista. 

Wednesday, Dec. 4 • 7:30 p.m. • Pella, Iowa • LIVE STATS/WATCH
Wartburg Knights (3-4, 0-0 A-R-C) at Coe College (2-4, 0-1 A-R-C)

Saturday, Dec. 7 • 4 p.m. • Storm Lake, Iowa • LIVE STATS | WATCH
Wartburg Knights (3-4, 0-0 A-R-C) at Buena Vista University (8-0, 0-0 A-R-C)

LAST TIME OUT
Wartburg suffered a pair of non-conference losses in Wisconsin last week, dropping contests at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Max Smith Drahos averaged 15 points in two games, tying a season-high with 18 points at UW-Eau Claire. The Knights tallied eight three-point field goals made in both games. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Wartburg has won five consecutive versus Central and leads the all-time series 87-51.
• Last year in Pella, Wartburg prevailed 102-85 and Max Smith Drahos scored a career-high 24 points.
• Against Buena Vista, the Knights are 8-2 against the Beavers in the previous 10 matchups and lead the all-time series 82-60.
• Last year, the Orange and Black swept the season series, including a season-high 103-point output at Levick Arena in which Cam Kickbush '19 broke the Wartburg single-game record for most three-points in a game with nine. 

WARTBURG

• After starting the season 3-0, the Knights have dropped four consecutive.
• Junior guard Max Smith Drahos leads the Knights with 12.1 points per game and 27 assists.
• Tyler Zumbach leads the team with 31 rebounds, averaging 4.4 per game.
• Freshman Jack Molstead leads Wartburg with 200 minutes played, averaging 28.6 per game.
• As a team, Wartburg owns a 47.3 field goal percentage.

CENTRAL

• The Dutch opened conference play at Loras last week, nearly pulling off a comeback upset during a 96-93 loss. 
  • Adam Flinn scored 37 points and earned A-R-C Player of the Week honors. 
• Central is coming off an 89-79 overtime victory versus Gustavus Adolphus on Saturday, improving to 2-4 overall. 
• Senior guard Jaden Moody leads the team with 20.5 points per game.
• The Dutch average 96.7 points per game, which ranks second in the conference. 
• Central was picked to finish 7th in the A-R-C Preseason Poll and went 5-11 in the league last season.

BUENA VISTA

• The Beavers are off to an 8-0 start are are coming off a pair of wins at the Nebraska Wesleyan Snyder Classic in Lincoln, Neb. over the weekend, earning wins over Willamette and the University of The Ozarks.
• Strong team defense has limited opponents to an average of 69.9 points per game, which leads the A-R-C.
• Senior guard Timothy Jeffries leads BVU with 20.4 points per game and leads the league with 46 made free throws. 
• The Beavers face No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan this Wednesday during their conference opener. 
• Buena Vista was picked to finish 8th in the A-R-C Preseason Poll and went 5-11 in the league last season.