CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The Iowa Conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III National Tournament will be decided in Waverly with No. 2 Wartburg hosting No. 5 Central. Wartburg took care of things with a 92-77 victory on their home court vs. Buena Vista. In the other semifinal game, Central won 72-61 to earn the upset victory of regular season champion Dubuque.
The Iowa Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, February 27 with Wartburg hosting Central. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Knights and Dutch split their regular season games with the home team winning each contest. Central won the most recent matchup 101-75 on February 13 behind 17 three-pointers.
No. 5 Central - 72, No. 1 Dubuque - 61 BOX SCORE
Central, playing its fourth game in Dubuque in the last nine days came ready to play on the defensive side of the court as they held UD to 33.9% shooting from the field and 21.7% from behind the three-point line. The lone bright spot for the Spartans in the game was senior
Andre Norris scoring 37 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
A two-point game with six minutes to play, Central used five straight points from
Pete Walker to increase their lead to an insurmountable seven points. Walker led the Dutch with 20 points. In two tournament games, Walker has scored 50 points after averaging 10.4 points per game in IIAC action.
No. 2 Wartburg - 92, No. 6 Buena Vista - 77 BOX SCORE
The Knights used a 12-0 run early to take control of the game within the first five minutes of play. Wartburg closed strong to take a 52-31 lead at halftime. The Wartburg lead would remain in double figures throughout the second half, reaching a high of 28 points at 74-46 with 11:31 left in the game.
Nick Webber led Wartburg with 28 points on 12-19 shooting from the field while also pulling down six rebounds and dishing out six assists. Iowa Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week
Jordan Cannon scored 23 points on 8-10 shooting.
