WAVERLY, Iowa – Wartburg men's basketball got back in the win column with an 80-69 win over Central College, who were unbeaten in conference play prior. The Knights are now 5-8 overall with an American Rivers Conference record of 2-2.
Scoring Summary
- First Half
- The game got underway with a made three from Central and a three pointer from Jack Molstead to answer
- With the score at nine apiece, Wartburg put together a 14-4 scoring run capped off by an Austin Bienemann jumper
- Wartburg led by 10 with 7:07 to play in the first half after a Cade Daugherty three pointer and a Codey Hicks layup
- Daugherty took over and went on an 8-0 run by himself after two more threes made and a contested jumper
- The Knights biggest lead of the half was 14, but Central was able to cut the lead to 44-36 at halftime
- Second Half
- Wartburg came out of halftime and scored the first six points after baskets in the paint from Keagan John, Donovon Smith and Molstead
- John scored the next eight points for the Knights, keeping them in front 58-50 with 14:06 left in the game
- Central kept chipping away at the lead and got it down to four points with 12:44 left and then three points with 9:55 left
- The Knights went on a 9-0 run to go back up 70-58 with 7:42 to go
- John scored another five points unanswered to push the lead to 14
- The Knights took their biggest lead of the night after another John three pointer made the score 80-63
- Wartburg closed out the game and won 80-69
Top Performers
- John
- 25 points (Career high)
- Four rebounds
- Molstead
- 14 points
- Four assists
- Three rebounds
- Two steals
- Daugherty
- 17 points (Career high)
- 6/7 FG
- 4/5 3P
- Led all bench scorers
- One rebound
Notes/Streaks
- 90th all-time win against Central
- Wartburg leads series 90-53
- Two Knights finished with career highs in scoring:
- John: 25 points
- Daugherty: 17 points
- Drew Olson made his season debut
- Wartburg shooting percentages:
- 50.8% FG
- 40.9% 3P
- 47.4% FT
- The Knights bench outscored Central's 29-19
- Marshun Williams led the team in rebounds with seven
- Molstead is now 79 points away from joining the 1,000-point club
Next Time Out
The Knights will hit the road this weekend for an A-R-C matchup against Nebraska Wesleyan University on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4 p.m.