WAVERLY, Iowa – Men's basketball fell to the University of Dubuque 90-81 inside Levick Arena in an American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) battle on Wednesday, Feb. 4. The Knights were led by 24 points from Austin Bienemann as well as a career-high 21 points from Drake Wemark.
 
Wartburg is now 12-9 overall and 4-8 in A-R-C play, while Dubuque moves to 14-6 overall and 7-4 in conference play.
 
Game Summary

• First Half
  • The Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first minute and a half after scores from Austin Bienemann and Cael Schramm in the paint
  • Following seven-straight Spartan points, Wartburg responded with seven-straight points of its own after scores from Schramm, Drake Wemark and a three pointer from Ethan Yungtum
    • Wartburg led 11-7 after just over five minutes of play
  • Gabe Trujillo made a three and scored in the paint over the next two and a half minutes to keep the Knights in front 16-15
  • Schramm, Mason Matson and Luke Ladwig all scored in the paint for Wartburg to push the lead to 23-19 with 9:19 left in the half
  • Dubuque used a 7-0 run to take a 26-23 lead, but Bienemann answered with a triple of his own before throwing down an alley-oop lob in transition to put the Knights back in front 28-26
  • Another three pointer from Bienemann and three total points from Wemark kept the game tied at 34-34 with 3:36 left in the first half
  • Wemark scored two more times in the final minutes along with a score from Ladwig and another Bienemann three ball to give Wartburg a 43-40 advantage at halftime
• Second Half
  • Schramm and Wemark both knocked down shots to begin the second half, but six-straight UD points cut the Wartburg lead to 47-46 after three minutes of play into the second half
  • The Spartans outscored Wartburg 8-3 over the next two minutes to give Dubuque a 54-50 lead with 14:22 left to play
  • Each team traded baskets over the next three minutes as Bienemann made his fourth three pointer of the game and both Wemark and Ladwig scored two
    • UD continue to hold a 61-57 lead
  • Trujillo and Bienemann each scored for the Knights, but UD continued to stretch the lead as the Spartans led 69-60 with 7:18 remaining
  • UD took its largest lead of the night (14 points) to make the score 80-66 with just over four minutes left to play
  • Wartburg extended the game with fouls and outscored the Spartans 15-10 in the final minutes, but it was not enough to overcome Dubuque's lead as UD held on to win 90-81

 
Top Performers

• Austin Bienemann
  • 24 points – 8/14 FG, 5/10 3P, 3/4 FT
  • Four rebounds
  • Three assists
  • Two steals
  • One block
• Drake Wemark
  • 21 points (career high)
  • Six rebounds
  • Two steals
  • One assist
• Cael Schramm
  • 14 points
  • Three rebounds
  • One steal

 
Notes/Streaks

• UD has now swept the regular season series this season
  • Wartburg leads the all-time series 75-51
  • Dubuque has won the last six matchups over Wartburg
• 21 points marks a new career high for Wemark
  • Made his second start of the season tonight
• Bienemann has now recorded 24+ points in three-straight games
  • 12/25 from three during that span
• Ethan Yungtum has recorded a double double in 14/21 games this season
  • Ranks second in Division III
• Bienemann, Wemark and Yungtum all recorded a team-high two steals
• Dubuque's bench outscored Wartburg's bench 28-9

 
Next Time Out
The Knights will continue A-R-C action later this week on the road against Nebraska Wesleyan University on Saturday, Feb. 7 at 4 p.m.