CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Coe College scored seven of the first nine points in the game while never trailing in a 75-42 win over Millikin.  The Kohawks held the Big Blue to 42 points, the best defensive performance of the year for Coe.

Rodney Clark hit a 3-pointer with 15:54 to play in the first half, cutting Coe's lead to 7-5.  Freshman Caleb Miller (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) scored back-to-back baskets, followed by a layup from junior Seth Light (Carlisle, Iowa/Carlisle) to give Coe six-straight points over a 4:40 stretch, taking a 13-5 lead with 10:59 to play.  Coe led 19-10 with 8:08 to play before scoring seven of the next nine points to take a 26-12 lead with 5:15 to play in the half.  Coe was on a 7-1 run in the last 2:27 of the game before Clark hit another 3-pointer with :03 to play in the half, leaving Coe with a 35-20 lead at the break.

Coe led 39-24 with 17:12 to play before going on a 16-4 run, including 10-straight points to close the run, in a 5:45 span to take a 55-28 lead with 11:12 to play.  Millikin cut the lead to 24 with 6:44 to play before the Kohawks scored 13 of the final 17 points in the last 5:03 of the game.

Sophomore Andrew Wirth (Cedar Falls, Iowa/Cedar Falls) led the Kohawks with a game-high 15 points.  He was 3-of-3 from 3-point range and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, a career-high in makes from the charity stripe.  Junior David Mataloni (Urbandale, Iowa/Urbandale) and Light joined Wirth in double figures with 14 and 13 points respectively.  Light also added a career-high 12 rebounds for his second career double-double.  Light and Mataloni both finished with a pair of assists, while Wirth had a game-high three.  

Junior Garrett Cross (Spring Grove, Minn./Spring Grove) and freshman Sean Pyritz (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) added two assists apiece, a career-high for Pyritz.  Wirth finished with a game-high three steals, while Cross added two.  Light blocked two shots.  Miller finished with eight points for the Kohawks.  Clark led the Big Blue with 13 points.

Coe shot 53.3 percent (24-of-45) from the field, including 8-of-16 from 3-point range.  Millikin was held to 23.7 percent (14-of-29) shooting.  The Big Blue struggled from behind the arc, connecting on just 3-of-19 (15.8%) attempts, including 1-of-9 in the second half.  Coe outscored Millikin 26-12 in the paint and 24-10 on bench points.

The Kohawks return to action on the final day of the US Bank Classic Monday.  Coe will face Aurora at 4 p.m. at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.