Spartans Downed by Central in Pella
Dec 2, 2017
PELLA, Iowa – Despite a huge performance by Jamaree Atwater, the University of Dubuque men’s basketball struggled to contain the Central Dutch and dropped their first Iowa Conference road contest, 96-89.
Central jumped out to a quick start, scoring the first seven points of the game before UD responded with the next seven points to tie the score at 7-7 at the 15:43 mark. Central built their lead back up to seven points with 12:11 left in the first half. The Spartans once again matched the Dutch run with a run of their own, scoring nine straight points to give the Spartans their first lead of the game at the halfway point of the first half. UD continued to roll, extending their lead to as many as nine points in the first half before taking a 42-38 lead into halftime.
The Dutch exploded out of halftime, going on a 12-0 run over the first three minutes of the second half. Jamaree Atwater hit a three pointer with 9:37 remaining in the game to make it a 62-60 game in favor of Central. After the three by Atwater, Central went on another 12-0 run to give them their biggest lead of the game to that point. The Spartan deficit would get as large as 15 with 4:15 remaining and the Spartans cut it to six with 1:40 left but could not manage to get any close.
Jamaree Atwater did everything on Saturday afternoon, recording 36 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks and one assist. 22 of Atwater’s 36 points came in the first half and he hit eight of the team’s 13 three pointers. TJ Lake and Marcus McDaniel both hit two treys on their way to 14 points each. Peter Ragen came off the bench to score 12 points in 21 minutes.
The Spartans return home on Wednesday to take on Simpson College at 8:00.
