DUBUQUE, Iowa - (1/18/23) On Wednesday evening, the University of Dubuque Spartans welcomed in the Luther College Norse for the remaining first round of conference games before they start the second round of action. The Norse hung tough with the Spartans as they trailed by five at half before the Spartans walked away with a 70-60 victory.

The Norse opened up the game on 10-2 run over the course of the first six minutes. The Spartans started to chip away as Sam Kilburg hit two threes along with Josh Hammer and Keegan Zimmerman connecting from beyond the arc to cut deficit to two (22-20). With three minutes remaining, the Spartans captured their first lead off a Brock Simon three giving them a two point advantage before they entered halftime with a 32-27 lead. Both teams shot the ball effectively in the first half as the Spartans shot 44% from the field while the Norse shot an impressive 52%. Zimmerman led all scorers at the half with 14.

After five minutes into the second half, the Norse recaptured the lead for their last time at 40-39. Over the next few possessions, the Spartans utilized the paint as Jaylin McCants went to work as he capitalized on three layups along with a bucket from Cade Guinn off the bench to stretch the lead out to nine (51-42). A few minutes later, Kilburg hit back-to-back threes to give the Spartans their biggest lead of the night at 64-51. The Norse continued to answer back as they cut the lead to six before the Spartans closed out the game from the charity stripe. 

On the night, the Spartans had three players in double figures. Keegan Zimmerman led the way with 21 points on 8-11 shooting and 3-4 from downtown. Sam Kilburg recorded a season high 19 points as he shot 5-8 from three point range. Jaylin McCants tallied 14 points and was leading rebounder with seven. 

Both teams played a very similar game as the Spartans shot 46.9 % from the field while the Norse shot 46%. Each team converted 17 points off turnovers and scored 26 points in the paint. The main difference was that the Spartans were able to get to the free throw line where they went 14-17 while the Norse only had six attempts. 

The Spartans notched another win in conference totaling their overall record to 12-5 and 5-3 in A-R-C play. This now puts the Spartans tied for 3rd in the conference. 

Up Next
The Spartans are set to host the Central College Dutch who sit in first place in the American Rivers Conference. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 4:00 p.m. inside the Stoltz Sports Center.