ERIC THIELE STAFF WRITER
The Wartburg men’s basketball team had another undefeated week as they topped Simpson Saturday, 71-60, and Luther Wednesday, 66-61.
The Knights ran into a storm of their own as they traveled down to Indianola to take on Simpson as the game had to be delayed 47 minutes due to an accident on the highway.
In the second half, the Knights were able to take over and gain a 51-43 lead with 8:43 left in the game.
The Knights built upon their lead, 63-51 with 1:30 left in the game led by Jordan Sathoff down low and Cole Danielson from the perimeter.
Cole Danielson finished the night with 21 points, Jordan Sathoff had 13 and eight rebounds, while Ross Timmermans had also 13 points and six assists.
Even though Cashes Mason did not put up a field-goal attempt in the game, he still managed to hit eight key free throws down the stretch that helped put the game away for the Knights.
The Knights went 18 for 20 from the free throw line and hit the last 12 to finish off the Storm.
Wednesday, the Knights topped the Luther Norse and jumped out to an early 16-4 lead with a 30-26 lead going into halftime.
Cole Danielson went three-for-five and had 11 points and three rebounds in the first half for the Knights.
“He [Cole] was very big for us, hitting big shots when we needed them. Some nights he will score big and others he will take what the defense gives him,” head coach Dick Peth said.
In the second half, Luther was able to cut into the four-point deficit and was able to take a 52-45 lead with 9:10 left in the game, forcing the Knights to call a timeout.
“You have to give Luther credit for the big run, we didn’t identify their big shooter late in the first half and they burned us,” Peth said.
Danielson was able to hit some big shots, including a three-pointer after the timeout, while Cashes Mason scored eight of his 18 points in the last 9:10.
“Cashes was huge down the stretch, he did a tremendous job on defense which gave him some chances on offense,” Peth said. “The fans really got into the game and the players really fed off the energy on defense and late in the game. The fans were one of the deciding factors in the outcome of the game.”
Danielson finished with a game-high 22 points, including six of nine from beyond the arc.
The Knights played Monday and will travel to Cornell on Wednesday to take on the Rams at 8 p.m.