DUBUQUE, Iowa - Dubuque jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first :50 Saturday, as they beat the Kohawks 70-58 in the Iowa Conference opener for the Spartans.  The loss dropps Coe to 3-3 overall and 1-1 in the Iowa Conference.

Trailing 7-0, Coe responded with six-straight points in :44 to get within one.  Following a 3-pointer by Andrew Wirth (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls), Coe scored just two points in the next 4:20, as the Spartans went on an 8-2 run.  Five of the Spartans points came from the free throw line, where they tallied 27 of their points in the game.

With 11:54 left in the first half, junior David Mataloni (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) hit a 3-pointer to cut the Spartan lead to 15-11.  Dubuque answered with a 10-4 run over the next 4:40, with the Spartans again scoring half their points of the run from the free throw line.  Back-to-back layups by freshman Caleb Miller (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) cut the lead to six points with 4:59 left in the half.

A 3-pointer by Chris Frazier sparked a 14-5 Dubuque run over the final 4:40 of the first half, as the Spartans took a 39-24 lead into the break.  Coe had just one field goal in the final 4:58 of the first half, as that came on a 3-pointer by freshman JT Vonderhaar (Bettendorf, Iowa/Assumption) with 1:46 left in the half.

Coe jumped out to a quick start in the second half, as they scored the first eight points in 1:57 to cut the lead to seven with 17:29 to play.  With 11:46 to play, Lee Piccinelli hit a 3-pointer to put the Spartans up 50-39.  The Kohawks used another big run, scoring the next seven points in 3:28 to cut the lead to four with 7:43 to play.  

Dubuque put the game away after the Kohawk run, as they scored 13 of the next 17 points in the game over a 6:15 stretch, taking a 53-50 lead with :49 to play.

Mataloni led the Kohawks with a game-high 15 points.  Wirth added 14, while Vonderhaar finished with nine.  Junior Seth Light (Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle) had a game-high six rebounds, while junior Nathan Joens (Swisher, Iowa/Xavier) added four boards.  Mataloni, Joens and senior Kevin Gaster (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Jefferson) finished with two assists apiece.  Gaster also had a game-high three steals.

The Kohawks return to action on Wednesday night, as they travel to Central.  Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. in Pella.