Brother making his own way

CEDAR RAPIDS - After playing in his older brother's shadow since grade school, Matt Vonderhaar wasn't too inclined to follow him to Coe.

But it's turned out well for all involved.

Vonderhaar made two clutch 3-pointers and came up with a key loose ball late in the game to lift the Kohawks past Luther, 67-60, Saturday in an Iowa Conference men's basketball game at Eby Fieldhouse.

The win was the fifth straight for Coe (13-6, 7-1) and kept it atop the conference standings.

Vonderhaar, a sophomore from Bettendorf, finished with 13 points. Junior Christian Fahey from Waukon led Coe with 19 points.

Senior JT Vonderhaar, Matt's brother and Coe's leading scorer with a 14.4 average, had 12 points.

'I fought with Coach (Bryan) Martin so hard not to come here because I wanted to be my own person,” Matt Vonderhaar said. 'But when I came here and I saw the coaches and met everybody, this is just the best place to be and I love it.”

Martin said Matt is starting to forge his own presence on the team.

'He's really stepped up the last couple games after having a two- or three-game stretch where he had an off-night shooting and wasn't as involved,” Martin said.

Despite holding a 10-point lead with 1:18 left, Coe could not put away the Norse (6-13, 2-6). A 3-pointer by Bradley Wilkins and two free throws by Jake Martin on a foul away from the ball cut Coe's margin to 62-60 with 28 seconds left. Martin led Luther with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Junior Jacob Timm made a pair of Coe free throws with 27 seconds left, but Luther - which made 10 of 37 3-pointers - still had time to keep launching.

A scrum on a rebound resulted in a loose ball and Matt Vonderhaar collected it with 15 seconds to play. He made a free throw, then put the game away with a steal and layup. CEDAR RAPIDS - CEDAR RAPIDS - After playing in his older brother's shadow since grade school, Matt Vonderhaar wasn't too inclined to follow him to Coe.

'I thought (the loose ball recovery) was the play of the game, without a doubt,” Martin said. 'That extra-effort play, in addition to him hitting some big shots, was great to see.”