ABOUT MOUNT MERCY ...
This season Mount Mercy has used a very balanced scoring attack as they have four players averaging double digits in points. Their leading scorer Dondre Osborne also leads the team in assists per game with 5.8. Mount Mercy struggles from the charity stripe however as they are currently shooting 62.9% from there. The Duhawks should not be afraid to foul if needed. Mount Mercy averages almost eight three pointers per game so the Duhawks will have to limit them from behind the arc.

ABOUT PRINCIPIA ...
Principia plays a very different style of basketball as four of their starters played the entire 40 minutes of their opening game against Eureka College. They are currently led in points and rebounds by Jeff Ross who notched a double-double in their opening game with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Fellow teammate Parker Davidson also notched an opening game double-double with 17 points and 13 boards. For the Duhawks to win they will have to limit the abilities of each of these players from inside of the arc.

GRCIC NAMED IIAC CO-MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK ...
After turning in an outstanding 34 point and 26 rebound performance this past weekend against Edgewood, junior Mirko Grcic was named the IIAC Basketball Player of the Week. Coming off of a breakout season in 2013, Grcic looks like he has taken another step forward to becoming a true star on this team.

NEXT MAN IN ...
A slew of injuries to key players in the Duhawk rotation has forced coach Gorton to utilize the abilities of Justin VanWambeke and Danny Quinn. Both of these players will be seeing a boost in playing time this upcoming weekend. Each of these two players played well in the season opener at Edgewood. VanWambeke is proving to be a valuable asset to the Duhawks this season after transferring in from Highland Community College.

FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND CONTINUES ...
When the Duhawks welcome the Mount Mercy and Principia to the Athletic & Wellness Center this weekend, they will be in front of their home crowd for the second and third consecutive game. The four-game homestand is their longest of the season.

GRCIC and VANWAMBEKE PACE DUHAWKS IN WEEK ONE ...
Junior Miro Grcic and sophomore Justin VanWambeke have been integral parts to the Duhawks early success. Grcic's outstanding performance in Loras' season opener garnered him conference attention while VanWambeke has picked up whereever necessary. In the first two games, the duo has led in points, rebounds, assists, and steals at least once. A threat in the post, Grcic opens up opportunities for VanWambeke on the perimiter. Forcing opposing defenses to play honest, VanWambeke's shooting ability pulls defenses outside the lane giving Grcic more room to work inside. Together the duo has complimented each other well in the early goings.

RECORDS ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN ...
In Tuesday night's win over Rockford, Loras earned 62 trips to the free throw line, converting 40 of them. With the high number of attempts and makes from the line, the Duhawks broke records that have been in place since the 1983-84 season. In that season Loras made 38 of 59 free throws in their win over Cabrini.  

STRUGGLING FROM THE STRIPE ...
Over the course of the first two games of the season, the Duhawks have gotten to the free throw line a total of 97 times, but have only converted on 63 of those attempts. That's good for a 64.9% mark. Last season Loras shot 75.2 percent from the line. In the coming games they will be looking to get back to their roots of being a solid free throw shooting team. One good thing, is that the Duhawks haven't had any problems getting to the line, so they will have every opportunity to suceed.

GRCIC TIES SCHOOL RECORD ...
In the 2014-15 season opener, junior Mirko Grcic hauled in 26 rebounds, tying a Loras school record dating back to the 1954-55 season. That year, Al Carew collected 26 rebounds in a game against St. Norbert College.