CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Westminster men's basketball saw a slow scoring night to fall 72-56 over Coe.
The Blue Jays open the season 0-3 in nonconference play.
"We had another poor shooting night tonight," said Westminster Head Coach Matt Mitchell. The Blue Jays were a combined 3-21 from the three-point line. "I know that we will be a good team once we start making shots. The way we shot won't win us many games in today's style of basketball."
Romo Tabb scored the first seven points of the game for Westminster on two layups and a three-pointer to trade baskets with the Kohawks. Collin Caywood hit two freethrows to retain a 9-8 lead over the first four minutes of play.
The next two minutes featured three lead changes followed by both team going scoreless for two minutes. Coe then hit back-to-back three pointers to take the 19-14 lead halfway through the first half. Hayden Drace kept the Blue Jays alive with a three-pointer of his own, but the Kohawks scored eight more points in three straight posessessions to take the double-digit lead with 8:44 to play.
Westminster went on an almost five-minute scoring drought during the Coe run, finally breaking the dry spell when Stu Hollandsworth made a freethrow with under five minutes to play with put Westminster within 13.
Tabb scored the next seven points for Westminster, followed by six points on freethrows and a layup from Carter Wands and Caywood to put Westminster back within four points, facing a 35-31 deficit at the half.
Hot shooting from Coe to open the second half quickly put the Blue Jays back down by double digits in the opening minutes of the second half, including another four minute scoring drought from Westminster. Carter Wands broke the spell with a layup at 13:12 to make the score 54-37.
The Kohawks took a 20-point lead with over 10 minutes to play in the half and Westminster wasn't able to come back within that deficit until Jak Kitchens and Trenton Barbour hit back-to-back layups in the closing miunute to make the final score 72-56 in favor of Coe.
Tabb was the lone Blue Jay in double figures with 16.
Westminster travels to St. Louis Friday and Saturday to face Illinois Wesleyan and Ozarks, hosted by Webster University.