A picture may be worth one thousand words, but only two words are needed to describe the Iowa Conference season finale game Saturday night at Eby Fieldhouse between Coe and Loras: Wirth Fever.

Loras (15-10, 8-6) may have won the game, beating Coe (11-14, 3-11) 82-75, but the theme of this game started even before the men stepped foot on the court.

As the last home game, Coe honored Andrew Wirth, the only senior player on the team.  He stood in the middle of the court with his family as Coach Bryan Martin presented him with a black shirt that read Wirth Fever.

That was not the only shirt in the room, however.  Wirth’s family, fans, and the entire team revealed matching shirts of their own.

“Our student body had a lot to do with that, as well as Andrew’s family,” Martin said.

“I was surprised, I had no idea.  My sister was so glad that I didn’t know about it,” Wirth said.  “I didn’t know what to say.”  Wirth’s sister Allie is a sophomore at Coe who plays for the women’s basketball team.

Wirth put up 20 points during his final game as a Kohawk, as well as four rebounds.  And as he walked off the court with a few seconds left in the game, fans were chanting “Thank you Wirth” even after play had resumed.

Martin described the night’s events as “just a great, exciting way to honor him and his last game and everything he has done for this program.”

Wirth recognized, however, that the game wasn’t about him.  “I think the importance of this game was just for the guys not to quit, because they’re only losing me, so they have to build on this season,” he said.

Loras held Coe from the beginning, with their largest lead of 17 points at the beginning of the second half.  Coe got within five points with only 26 seconds left in the game.

Martin was impressed with the game even though he was disappointed with the score.  “I love the way we fought back and had a chance there at the end,” he said. “We got a lot of young players; that’s a good sign they have that fight in them.”

Matt Daoust added 16 points for Coe, and Alex Cline was the top scorer for Loras with 27 points.

“I was proud of their effort right down to the wire,” Martin said.

LORAS COLLEGE (82): Cline, Alex 6-7 10-13 27; Coon, Ryan 6-8 2-3 14; Barry, Luke 4-8 2-2 11; Harmening, Bobby 1-5 6-6 8; Schueller, Aaron 3-9 0-0 7; Grcic, Mirko 3-6 0-0 6; Smith, Nathaniel 1-4 2-4 5; Criss, Dominique 1-4 2-2 4; Schneider, Justin 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-52 24-30 82.

COE COLLEGE (75): Wirth, Andrew 6-21 6-6 20; Daoust, Matt 6-12 0-0 16; Vorba, Lincoln 3-5 0-0 9; Wadsworth, Brian 3-3 2-2 8; Timm, Jacob 1-4 4-4 7; Vonderhaar, JT 2-8 2-2 6; Truhlsen, Cale 2-5 0-0 4; Stix, Sam 1-2 1-2 3; Fahey, Christian 0-2 2-2 2; Schmarzo, Max 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-64 17-18 75.

Halftime-Loras 38, Coe 26. 3-point goals-Loras College 8-20 (Cline, Alex 5-6; Barry, Luke 1-5; Smith, Nathaniel 1-2; Schueller, Aaron 1-3; Criss, Dominique 0-1; Grcic, Mirko 0-1; Harmening, Bobby 0-2), Coe College 10-29 (Daoust, Matt 4-6; Vorba, Lincoln 3-5; Wirth, Andrew 2-13; Timm, Jacob 1-1; Stix, Sam 0-1; Schmarzo, Max 0-2; Vonderhaar, JT 0-1). Fouled out--Loras College-None, Coe College-None. Rebounds-Loras College 36 (Coon, Ryan 12), Coe College 33 (Daoust, Matt 6). Assists-Loras College 12 (Coon, Ryan 4), Coe College 14 (Wirth, Andrew 5). Total fouls-Loras College 19, Coe College 25. A-746