Hot Shooting Men's Basketball Sizzle in Pella
Feb 4, 2015
PELLA, Iowa - The University of Dubuque men's basketball squad remained within striking distance of the league leader by sizzling on the road Wednesday evening in a 105-62 victory over the Central College Dutch. The Spartans led 46-28 at halftime and would shoot over 70% from the three point area, sinking 12-17 attempts.
The Spartans improved to 16-4 overall and 6-3 in IIAC action and remain just two games behind league leading Buena Vista (15-5 overall, 8-2 in IIAC). UD made 41-69 shot attempts (60.3%) and were led by senior Lucas Ware who capped off a stellar night making 11-14 attempts to finish with 26 points. Four out of five Spartan starters ended the night in double digit scoring. Andre Norris dropped 3-4 three point shots to end with 20 points and a team high seven rebounds. Brandon Ferguson sank 7-13 shot attempts for 15 points, Tanner Cooke came off the bench to add 11 points and Gage Heffernan had 10 points in just 22 minutes of play.
The Spartans defense forced the Dutch into 17 turnovers while UD ended the night with a season low four miscues. Heffernan led with five of the Spartans 13 steals and also was the team leader in assists with eight of UD's 22 in the victory. UD out rebounded Central by a slim 37-35 margin and held them to 9-34 in three point attempts.
"We played a great game tonight and it helps when you are making shots and finish with just 4 turnovers and 22 assists as a team," said Head Coach Robbie Sieverding. "Individually, Lucas Ware is playing really well right now while Gage also had a very nice game, especially passing the ball (eight assists)."
Fifteen Spartans played in the 43 point victory and 10 Spartans contributed to the 105 points. UD returns home on Saturday to face second place Coe College (13-7 overall, 7-2 in IIAC) at 4:00 p.m. in Stoltz Sports Center. The Spartans lost by a mere six points on January 28 at Coe by a final score of 63-69. Just five games remain in the regular Iowa Conference season and none of the seeds have been wrapped up for the IIAC Tournament.
"Our guys played with confidence and will need to carry it through to Coe on Saturday. We have put together some really good games of late and I'm excited to see our team continue to grow as we enter the home stretch," added Coach Sieverding.
Standings through Feb. 4, 2015
| School | IIAC | All |
|---|---|---|
| Buena Vista | 8-1 | 15-5 |
| Coe | 7-2 | 13-7 |
| Dubuque | 6-3 | 16-4 |
| Wartburg | 5-4 | 12-8 |
| Central | 3-6 | 10-10 |
| Loras | 3-6 | 8-12 |
| Luther | 3-6 | 7-13 |
| Simpson | 1-8 | 6-14 |
