CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Men's basketball took on Coe College on the road in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) action Saturday, Dec. 6 where the Knights overcame a 15-point second half deficit to defeat the Kohawks 73-72 in a back-and-forth battle.
Luke Ladwig's game-winning floater in the final seconds secured the win for Wartburg.
Wartburg is now 7-1 overall and 2-0 in A-R-C play, while Coe moves to 6-2 and 1-1 in A-R-C play.
Game Summary
- First Half
- Ethan Yungtum scored the first five points of the game for Wartburg with a three pointer assisted by Austin Bienemann and a two-point basket to give Wartburg a 5-2 lead after a minute and a half
- Coe took its first lead of the game (6-5) with 15:47 left in the first half
- Gabe Trujillo and Cael Schramm each scored before Luke Ladwig knocked down a three pointer to put Wartburg in front 11-10
- Drake Wemark scored back-to-back buckets for the Knights and Bienemann made a mid-range jumper, but Wartburg trailed 22-17 with 7:21 left in the first half
- Schramm, Yungtum and Bienemann all scored for the Knights over the next three minutes, but the Knights' deficit remained five
- Coe closed the first half outscoring Wartburg 10-6 to take a 37-28 lead into halftime
- Yungtum (four) and Jamison Poe (two) scored Wartburg's six points
- Second Half
- Coe opened the half on a 6-0 run to open a 15-point lead after two and a half minutes of play into the second half
- Wartburg went on a 16-4 run over the next four and a half minutes of play led by 11 combined points for Yungtum and Schramm as well as scores from Mason Matson and Wemark
- Coe's lead was cut to 47-44 with 12:58 left in the game following Matson's three pointer
- Bienemann threw down a dunk to cut the lead to one point and start a 12-4 Wartburg run that was capped off by a Ladwig three pointer that put the Knights in front 56-53 with just over nine minutes remaining
- Trujillo and Schramm combined for seven-straight points to give Wartburg a 63-55 edge with 6:32 left to play
- Coe outscored the Knights 11-4 over the next three minutes to cut Wartburg's lead to 67-66
- Trujillo answered with a driving layup and Yungtum added one free throw to put the Knights ahead 70-66 with 1:45 left in the second half
- Coe made three free throws with 38 seconds left to cut the Wartburg lead to 70-69, but Wartburg was able to add one free throw on the other end to go ahead 71-69
- Following a timeout, the Kohawks connected on a three pointer to take a 72-71 lead with just 10 seconds remaining
- Following the make, Ladwig took the inbound pass and took the ball all the way into the paint for a floater that dropped to put the Knights in front for good 73-72
Top Performers
Notes/Streaks
- Snaps six-game losing streak to Coe
- Wartburg leads the all-time series 45-34
- First win on the road against Coe since the 2018-19 season
- Fifth game with 20+ points for Yungtum
- 7-1 is the best start for Wartburg since the 2021-22 season (9-1)
- Fourth game out of the last five with 10+ steals for Wartburg
- Career high in steals for Wemark (four)
- Seventh game this season with 10 or more offensive rebounds
Next Time Out
The Knights are in action next Saturday, Dec. 13 against Loras College at 4 p.m. in Dubuque, Iowa.
