Big week for Grady Thompson, Dubuque

It’s hard to imagine Grady Thompson and the University of Dubuque men’s basketball team having a better week than last week.

The Spartans clinched the American Rivers Conference championship Feb. 19 by defeating Coe College, and three nights later beat its crosstown rival, Loras College, in a double-overtime thriller.

The 78-75 victory over host Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, clinched the ARC regular-season championship and the No. 1 seed for this week’s conference tournament.

Thompson, a sophomore from Princeton, contributed 16 points, including 7-of-9 free-throw shooting, and seven rebounds in the Spartans’ conference clincher.

“Regular season championships are gold and couldn’t be prouder of this team. We still have goals ahead and our guys are excited for the upcoming challenges,” UD coach Robbie Sieverding said.

One of those challenges was crosstown rival Loras College, which made the short one-mile trip to the Stoltz Sports Center on the campus of Dubuque University on Saturday.

The Spartans outlasted the Duhawks in double overtime to post a 90-86 victory in what will go down as an all-time classic between the city rivals. The game featured 11 ties and 19 lead changes.

Thompson made a game-tying, three-point play with a basket and free throw in the first overtime and had a critical layup followed by two big free throws with 1.1 seconds left to seal the victory for the Spartans.

He finished with a career-high 29 points, going 8 of 11 from the free-throw line, with six rebounds and two steals to earn the “Spartan Strong Player” of the Game honors.

It’s no wonder, Thompson, an Associated Press All-State first-team selection for Princeton High School, said it was “probably one of my favorite games I’ve ever had.”

“Grady stepped up big time and had made a ton of plays for us,” Sieverding said.

On the season, Thompson is averaging 13.9 points and 4.6 rebounds a game.

Dubuque (20-5, 14-2) will host the winner between No. 4 Central in the ARC semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday. The championship is set Saturday at the higher seed’s homecourt.