Spartans Off to Best Start Ever 15-0!
Jan 18, 2014
DUBUQUE, Iowa - A fresh blanket of snow in Dubuque couldn't dampen the festive crowd on Saturday in Stoltz Sports Center. The University of Dubuque men's basketball team is off to it's best start in school history with a 15-0 record and a perfect 4-0 record in league play. Saturday's match-up of unbeatens in Iowa Conference play with Buena Vista University and UD entered the contest both with 3-0 records.
The Spartans faced a strong test in the Beavers and the game swapped leads 13 times and was tied another nine times with neither team leading by more than a handful of points. UD took the lead with 11 seconds remaining on a lay-up and foul 65-63. The Beavers had an open three for the win, but it fell short and the long rebound landed in the hands of the Spartans to remain unblemished with the 65-63 victory.
The size of the Beavers dominated the inside game by out rebounding the host Spartans 51-30 and helping them shine in second chance points where they scored 17. The Spartans responded by scoring 14 points off the 19 Beaver turnovers and having the bench players out score BV 29-19. The game was nearly decided at the free throw line with BV making 22-29 attempts as the host Spartans made 12-15 attempts.
The Spartans have also set a new school record for consecutive victories with 15 and UD has won the past 21 out of 22 games dating back to February 6, 2013.
BV's defense held the Spartan starters to just two who finished in double digit scoring. Gage Heffernan and Andre Norris ended the afternoon with 13 points each. Jacob Mohlis came off the bench to finish with a dozen points and five assists as teammate Brandon Ferguson added 10 points. The two teams struggled from the outside in scoring and would combine to sink just 6-41 attempts from the three point area. BV made 1-18 attempts (5.6%) and UD sank 5-23 attempts (21.7%).
The Spartans will take their record on the road as they travel to play Coe College (9-6 overall, 1-3 in IIAC) in Cedar Rapids on January 22 at 8:00 p.m. and at Loras College (10-5 overall, 3-1 in IIAC) on January 25 at 6:00 p.m.
