MOUNT PLEASANT, Iowa – The Spalding men's basketball team lost a heart breaker on the road to Iowa Wesleyan 85-82 on Thursday night at Ruble Arena. Brandon Goeing's 23 points was enough as a three-pointer by Rylan Rowe rimmed out with seconds left sealing the victory for the Tigers.
 
The first half was sloppy as both teams shot under their season averaging, neither of which hitting more than 36 percent of their shots. In a slow start, shooting wise, Goeing shot 4 of 14 in the first half for 11 points, going 0 of 3 from behind the arc. Rowe added eight in the first half but the Tigers Brock Butler added 10 and Iowa Wesleyan went to the locker room with a 33-30 lead.
 
The second half was up-tempo and both teams were knocking down the big shot. Spalding hit 20 of 29 shots in the half for a 69 percent clip, but the Tigers also hit 56 percent of their shots to stay in the lead. Goeing added another 12 in the second half and James Turner scored all 15 of his points in the final 20 minutes. The difference in the second half was the Tigers Mitch Drey hitting 5 of 6 and both of his three's to give the Tigers 16 points, helping in the win.
 
Spalding hit all 15 of their free throws and scored half of their points in the paint. This is the second consecutive game for the Golden Eagles that four players have scored in double-figures, three scored 20 or more in Saturday's game versus Greenville.
 
The Golden Eagles will remain on the road and play at Principia on Saturday at 4:00 EST.