WAVERLY, Iowa - Wartburg men's basketball suffered a 55-72 defeat against the University of Dubuque in its second American Rivers Conference matchup of the season on Saturday, Jan. 30 inside Levick Arena.
The Knights (2-4, 0-2 A-R-C) will continue their journey through conference play on Wednesday, Feb. 3 against Coe College (1-1, 1-1 A-R-C) inside Levick Arena with tip-off set for 5:30 p.m.
The Spartans got off to a hot start from the field in the first half and led wire-to-wire as the Orange & Black struggled to find a rhythm offensively. The opening period was highlighted by freshman guard Sam Kilburg who tallied 17 first-half points for Dubuque. The Knights went into the break shooting just 23.5% from the field and 15.4% from 3-pont land. Sophomore guard
Jack Molstead recorded a team-high seven points in the first as Wartburg went into halftime facing a 14-point deficit.
Wartburg started to turn things around in the second half as it managed to cut into the Spartans lead as time progressed, forcing three second-half turnovers and holding UD to just 42.9% from the field and 12.5% from long range. With eight minutes to play, the Knights went on a 14-3 run and were in striking distance being down only nine. However, Dubuque went on a run of their own down the stretch to secure the victory. Upperclassmen
Davis Roquet and
Max Smith Drahos were at the forefront of the late rally scoring a combined 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting.
The Knights were led offensively by senior Smith Drahos who tallied 13 points while Charles City, Iowa native Molstead also reached double figures with a season-high 11 points. Roquet led Wartburg in rebounding with a career-high nine boards to go along with his seven points. The Orange & Black finished the contest 30.2% from the field, 20.8% from 3-point land and 48% from the free-throw line.
Defensively, the Knights forced 12 turnovers on five steals and four blocks. Wartburg also held Dubuque to a season-low 72 points.
Dubuque was led by Kilburg who concluded the game with a career-high 23 points and senior forward Peter Ragen posted a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds.
