DUBUQUE, Iowa - In front of a limited crowd on a snowy Iowa Wednesday, the University of Dubuque men's basketball team hosted the Wartburg College Knights in Stoltz Sports Center. The Spartans defeated the Knights for the second time this season, this time with a 77-61 on Jon Davison Court.
The Spartans jumped to an early lead and held a single digit lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the first half. The Spartans would build their lead to 12 (31-19) with 8:40 to go in the half, but would only score eight points the rest of the half as the Knights got it to within six at the half.
The Knights hit a three-pointer to open up the second half to get within three, but a
Jaylin McCants three-pointer and a
Jacob Williams three-point play extended the Spartans lead back to nine points. The Knights would never get closer than seven the rest of the way 9-2 run in the final five minutes gave the Spartans a double-digit win over the Knights.
After a athlete of the week performance a week ago, McCants continued his stellar play with a 27 point, 13 rebound double-double in 38 minutes. McCants was also 8-10 at the free throw line.
Grady Thompson finished with 16 points, while Williams had his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
Jalen Scott was a great facilitator tonight, finishing with seven assists.
The Spartans grabbed 16 offensive rebounds which led to 17 second chance points, while the Knights only had three second chance points.
Hear from Robbie Sieverding
"Our defense in the second half was much better and really the difference in the game. Our guys did a great job on the boards and we took care of the basketball for the most part. Jaylin was really good once again and Jacob had a strong game with a double double. Grady also stepped up and made some big buckets down the stretch. Big challenge ahead with a very good Central team on the road."
The Spartans move to 17-5 overall and 11-2 in conference play with three regular season games remaining. The Spartans magic number sits at three to win the American Rivers Conference regular season title.
Up Next
The Spartans will travel to Pella, Iowa to face the Central College Dutch at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 15.
