Second Half Surge Lifts Spartans Over Iowa Wesleyan
Nov 21, 2017
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque men's basketball team scored 50 second half points, after trailing at halftime, to beat Iowa Wesleyan 76-56.
The first half of the contest was not one to remember for the Spartans as they were an ice cold, 9-32 shooting from the field and had 10 turnovers. Fortunately, Iowa Wesleyan was not much better from the field in the first half, going 9-28 but made five more free throws than UD, giving them a 30-26 lead at halftime.
The Spartans deficit was as big as nine in the first half but the largest deficit in the second half was six points after Iowa Wesleyan scored the first basket of the half. UD was able to tie and take the lead within the next four minutes and after a couple of lead changes, the Spartans took the lead for good at 45-43, on a TJ Lake three pointer with 10:57 remaining.The Lake three pointer sparked UD and a large rally that would see the Spartans build their lead to double digits with just under seven minutes remaining. The game was never in doubt from that point and UD would even manage a lead as big as 22 points at one point before finishing with a 20 point victory.
TJ Lake once again led the Spartans in scoring, finishing with 21 points, while also leading the team in rebound with nine. Peter Ragen was the only other Spartan to score double figures, finishing with 10 points, eight of which came in the second half. In all, 10 Spartans scored on Tuesday night, including Jamaree Atwater and Marcus McDaniel who each finished with nine.
UD dominated the glass, outrebounding Iowa Wesleyan 51-28 overall and 12-3 on the offensive glass. After shooting 28.1% in the first half, UD got in a rhythm and went 19-33 (57.6%) in the second half, while limiting Iowa Wesleyan to just 36.7% in the second half. The Spartans also converted at the charity stripe, making 9-11 of their free throws.
The Spartans are right back in action on Wednesday night when they host Rockford at the Stoltz Sports Center at 6:00 p.m.
