Spartans Out Rebounded in Loss
Jan 26, 2013 | UD Sports Info
DECORAH, Iowa - The University of Dubuque men's basketball team had a tough task on Saturday night, attempting to beat the Luther College Norse for the second time in just five days. The host Norse dominated the rebounding and edged out a 60-55 victory over the Spartans. UD is the Norse lone conference loss in league play with just six games left of the regular season.
UD falls to 14-5 overall and 4-4 in IIAC. The Norse lead the IIAC with a 7-1 mark and Buena Vista, to whom the Spartans lost in overtime to, are second with a 6-2 record tied with Wartburg. The Spartans host the Wartburg Knights on Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 8:00 p.m. Every game until the IIAC tournament has suddenly become a key to finishing toward the top of the IIAC as the season winds down.
Mitch Michaelis led UD in scoring with 11 points and five rebounds. The duo of Chris Frazier and Andre Norris both ended with 10 points while Frazier would collect five rebounds. The Spartans out rebounded the Norse last Monday, but the Norse out rebounded the Spartans by 16 tonight (41-25). Luther scored 12 second chance points and 14 points in the paint. UD forced the host Norse into committing 16 turnovers. The pair of teams swapped the lead 17 times and were tied another seven. UD led by as many as eight points about midway through the final half while Luther's biggest lead was eight points with under five minutes to play.
Box score was pretty balanced among the two teams. UD sank 21-52 attempts (40.4%) while the Norse made 22-53 attempts (41.5%) from the field. At the free throw line UD was 9-12 (75%) as Luther finished the night sinking 11-15 attempts (73.3%). The Spartans made four from beyond the three point arc and the Norse connected for five long balls.
UD will play host the next two games with Wartburg on Jan. 30 and then welcoming Coe College to Stoltz Sports Center on Feb. 2.
