DUBUQUE, Iowa – Men's basketball went on the road and upset the third seeded Loras College Duhawks 96-86 in the opening round of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 25. The Knights now advance to the semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 27 against Nebraska Wesleyan University at 7 p.m.
Marshun Williams broke the school record for most field goals made in a A-R-C Tournament game (15) as well as the school record for points scored in a A-R-C Tournament game (37) in tonight's win.
Game Summary
- First Half
- Wartburg jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first three minutes of play with one score each from Richie Rosenblum, Luke Ladwig, Austin Bienemann and Marshun Williams
- Following a Loras score, Ladwig drove to the hoop for a layup and then both Bienemann and Williams connected from deep to stretch the lead to 17-6
- The Duhawks stopped the 8-0 run with a layup to make the score 17-8 with 11:39 left in the half
- The Knights continued to add to their lead as they went on a 11-2 run over the next four minutes led by seven points from Williams
- Williams and Gabe Trujillo both scored to keep Wartburg's lead at 20 with 3:14 left in the half
- The Duhawks closed the half on a 9-5 run to make the halftime score 39-23 with Wartburg in front
- Bienemann made a three at the halftime buzzer for the Knights
- Second Half
- The Knights continued to stay in front by 20 early in the second half with an 8-4 run led by scores from Tujillo, Ladwig and Williams
- Wartburg's lead grew to 24 points with 13:42 left to play after three more points from Trujillo as well as baskets from Rosenblum and Ethan Yungtum
- Loras began to chip away at the Wartburg lead, reducing it to 17 point with just over 10 minutes left to play
- After each side began trading scores, Bienemann broke away for a two-handed slam and then drilled a three pointer the next possession to put the Knights ahead by 19 with 5:17 to play
- Loras started to foul Wartburg in the final four minutes and was able to close the lead to as low as eight points, but the Knights held off Loas for a 96-86 win
- Williams and Bienemann combined for 14 of the final 21 Wartburg points
- The Knights shot 5/5 from the field in those final minutes
Top Performers
Notes/Streaks
- First A-R-C Tournament win since 2020 season
- First win at Loras since the 2021-22 season
- Williams has now moved into third all-time in scoring at Wartburg with 1,529 points
- Surpassed 1,500 points tonight
- Wartburg A-R-C Tournament single game school records broken/tied:
- Williams – 37 points and 15 made field goals (both new records)
- Bienemann – three blocks (tied record)
- Trujillo – four steals (tied record)
- Second most points scored as a team for Wartburg this season
- Wartburg shot 63.5% from the field and 42.1% from three
- Loras shot 45.1% from the field and 12.1% from three
- Five Knights score 10 or more points
- Wartburg had double the amount of assists as Loras (20-10)
Next Time Out
Wartburg continues its A-R-C Tournament run on Thursday, Feb. 27 with a semifinal matchup on the road against Nebraska Wesleyan University at 7 p.m.
