WAVERLY, IOWA – Wartburg men's basketball looks to continue its push towards a conference tournament berth with two American Rivers Conference games this week.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 – 7:30 p.m. –
Waverly, Iowa –
Levick Arena
Wartburg Knights (16-5, 9-3 A-R-C) vs Central Dutch (4-16, 1-11 A-R-C)
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Saturday, Feb. 12 – 4:00 p.m.
– Storm Lake, Iowa – Siebens Fieldhouse
Wartburg Knights (16-5, 9-3 A-R-C) vs BVU Beavers
(11-11, 8-5 A-R-C)
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Conference Standings
The Knights enter the week at number two in the A-R-C standings with a conference record of 9-3 and only trail the University of Dubuque by one game for the top spot. Buena Vista currently sits at fourth overall in the A-R-C with a conference ledger of 8-5. The Dutch are last in the A-R-C standings with a conference record of 1-11 this season.
Last Time Out
The Orange & Black defeated Nebraska Wesleyan University 84-69 on the road in their last contest.
After five minutes of play the score was tied at 11 thanks to a Landon Torneten layup for the Prairie Wolves. NWU went on a 11-1 run to take a 22-12 lead with 9:06 to play. Wartburg stayed around a 10-point deficit over the next 5 minutes, but an and one layup from
Drew Olson followed by a steal and layup from
Keagan John brought the Knights within six points with 3:29 to play. NWU responded with a six to two run to take a 43-39 lead into half.
The Prairie Wolves were on fire in the first half from beyond the arc as they outshot Wartburg 58.3% to 33.3%. The Knights shot a better percentage from the field though, with a 53.3% to 45.5% advantage.
Davis Roquet got the scoring started again for the Knights with a three-pointer coming out of halftime to make the score 43-42 and Wartburg took the lead after an Olson three-ball put them in front 47-46. NWU responded with back-to-back threes of its own to retake the lead 52-47 with 16:08 left to play.
The Knights went on a huge 16-0 run over five minutes to break a 54-54 tie. After the run the Orange & black led 70-54 with 9:41 to play. Wartburg kept the second half run going and held on to a double digit lead the rest of the half with the largest lead being 21 points.
The Knights' defense was able to hold the Prairie Wolves offense to 25% shooting from three and 28.6% from the field in the second half to help secure the win. The Orange & Black outscored NWU 45-26 in the second half after shooting 57.7% from the field and 45.5% from three.
Season Leaders
Olson and
Jack Molstead lead the Knights offense with 15.9 and 13.1 points per game, which rank sixth and eighth respectively in the A-R-C. The guards are second and third in the conference for average assists per game with marks of 5.0 and 5.1 per game respectively.
Olson is shooting 51.1% from the field and 38.6% from beyond the arc this season and leads Wartburg in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds per game. The Osage, Iowa native is averaging 3.43 steals per game, which ranks number one in the conference and fifth among all Division III athletes.
Codey Hicks is averaging 11.1 points per game while shooting a Division III best 74.5% this season. The junior has started all 21 games this season and has grabbed 5.1 rebounds per game.
Central
The Dutch enter Wednesday's contest with a 4-16 overall record and a current losing streak of four games. The last win for Central came at Simpson on Wednesday, Jan. 19, which is its lone A-R-C win so far this season.
Central ranks eighth in both scoring offense and defense this season among the A-R-C with an average of 65.6 points scored and 75.1 points scored.
The Dutch are led by Joshua Van Gorp, who averages 11.1 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. Van Gorp is also the conference leader in blocks per game with 1.3.
Drew Edwards leads Central with 3.7 assists per game, which ranks fifth in the A-R-C. Edwards adds 5.5 points per game and five rebounds per game in 20 games played for the Dutch.
Buena Vista
Buena Vista enters the week 11-11 overall and 8-5 in conference play. The Beavers have won two of their last three but fell in their last contest 65-62 to Coe College. BVU defeated Wartburg earlier this season 88-84 behind a 38-point performance from Garrett Sittner inside Levick Arena.
The Beavers rank fifth among the conference in both team offense and defense this season with marks of 72.7 points scored per game and 72.3 points given up per game. BVU averages the third-most three's made in the conference with eight three-pointers per game as a team.
The Beavers offense is led by Michael Demers, who averages 16 points per game while shooting 49.2% from the field and 38.7% from three. Demers adds 5.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists to help lead BVU.
Jake Thompson leads the conference with 5.4 assists per game while leading the team in rebounding with an average of 6.3 per game. Thompson is scoring 11.1 points per game while shooting 45.7% from the field and 32.1% from beyond the arc.
Series History
This will be the 142
nd matchup between Central and Wartburg, with the Knights leading the series 89-52. The Orange & Black have won four of the last five matchups against the Dutch.
When Wartburg travels to Storm Lake, Iowa it will be the 148
th matchup between the schools. Wartburg leads the series 82-65 all-time, but have lost the last five matchups.
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