Posted by By: Brady Behrend
On Wednesday, February 16, the Coe College men’s basketball team defeated the Wartburg Knights 91-75 in the final regular-season home basketball game.
“At the start of the game, we came out just a little too hyped up,” said forward Jarad Kruse (‘22), “Once we settled in and started getting stops… we made our defense translate to better offense.”
The Knights got out to a quick start and led the Kohawks 20-11 halfway through the first half. However, the Kohawks would end the half on a 29-16 run to take the lead at halftime by a score of 36-31. Through ten minutes of the second half, the Kohawks outscored the Knights 24-14 to take a 15 point lead they never relinquished.
“We dictated the battle of the paint,” said Head Coach Brian Martin, “We were able to get a lot of drives to the rim and get fouled; anytime you get a lead that’s what you want to do.”
Guard Cael Schmitt (‘24) led the Kohawks offensively, scoring a season-high 22 points while having six assists and three steals. Kruse and guard Jacob Robertson (‘22) each had 17 points while Kruse racked up 10 rebounds as well, giving him a double-double in points and rebounds. Rounding out the double-digit scorers, guard Greg Hall (‘23) had 14 points in 19 minutes of action off the bench. He also made an impact on the defensive side of the ball by having two steals and two blocks.
“Having the whole student body out like that really gives us a good boost,” said Kruse, “Seeing all the support from our classmates is just awesome.”
The student body filled the student section and supported the team by participating in the “white-out” theme. All evening, the student section was heavily invested in the game and cheered on their friends and fellow classmates on the court. Free white shirts were being thrown into the student section to promote school spirit. According to the Coe College Athletics website, this game had the largest amount of people in attendance all season with 756 people.
“Hopefully we can clinch a home game for our tournament and get another crowd like that next week,” said Kurse.
The Kohawks travel to Nebraska Wesleyan for their final game of the regular season on Saturday, February 19. After that, the Kohawks will host a game in the conference tournament.