CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The University of Dubuque men's basketball team needed a road win Wednesday night, but the host Coe College Kohawks wanted to maintain their spot at the top of the Iowa Conference. The Spartans rallied from a slow start, foul trouble, and cold shooting, but fell short to the Kohawks 63-69 to suffer their third IIAC loss of the season. 

UD trailed by nine points early in the opening half of action, before battling back and carrying a slim four point lead into the halftime locker room 30-26. A chilly second half of shooting frustrated the Spartans (10-39, 28.6%) and foul trouble made it difficult on the Spartans starting five. Andre Norris picked up his third and fourth fouls with 15 minutes left of the second half and would spend most of the rest of the half watching from the sidelines. UD's bench would be out scored by the Kohawks 24-9. 

Gage Heffernan kept the Spartans in the game with defensive hustle and 9-21 shooting from the field to finish with a game high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Norris despite his time on the sidelines would finish with 15 points and 12 rebounds which included 11 defensive grabs. Brandon Ferguson was a perfect 4-4 at the free throw line to finish with 12 points. The Spartans tied their season high in field goal attempts with 72 in the loss.

The Spartans (14-4 overall, 4-3 in the IIAC) will travel across town on Saturday, Jan. 31 to play the Loras College Duhawks (8-10 overall, 3-4 in the IIAC), a team they beat on January 21 by a 67-55 mark. Tip-off slated for 2:00 p.m.