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.