DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – A strong start paced the Duhawks (3-1) to a 66-51 victory over the Panthers of Principia College (1-2) in the Athletic and Wellness Center on Saturday. Coach Gorton and his team led by a score of 43-15 going into halftime. In the second half the Duhawks played it safe by resting the bodies of their starters and giving valuable experience to a handful of varsity newcomers. Despite committing 27 turnovers, Loras still earned the win by 15 points.

Sophomore Justin VanWambeke got the Duhawk offense into an early groove, going 3-for-3 from deep in the opening minutes. Loras would use VanWambeke's three pointers along with triples from senior Bobby Harmening and Dominique Criss to jump out to a 23-5 lead with 7:08 remaining in the first half.

Part of the reason the Duhawks performed so well in the first half can be attributed to their post defense against Principia's Justin Ball. At 6-8, Ball was seen as an unfavorable mismatch for the Duhawks prior to the game.  He mustered just 12 total points on 6-of-19 shooting against the defense of junior Sean Bourke and sophomore Danny Quinn.

With five minutes remaining in the first half, senior Regan Takes got hot from deep, hitting two three pointers and earning a trip to the line from behind the arc. After hitting all three of his ensuing free throw attempts, the teams would head to the locker room.

In the first half, Loras bombarded Principia with eight three pointers to pace the offense. Both sophomore Dominique Criss and senior Regan Takes impressed, combining for 21 of the Duhawk benches' 23 first half points. Loras used a multitude of Principia turnovers to earn 22 points in transition and further extend their lead.

Coming out of the locker room Loras would stretch the lead to as much as 33 points, continuing their string of hot shooting from deep. With the Duhawks having pushed their lead to 33 points, head coach Greg Gorton elected to give some valuable experience to varsity newcomers. Juniors Patrick Schmelzle, Dylan Humpal, and Jake Brock each saw their first action of the season.

Late into the second half, Principia mounted a 16-point comeback, bringing the Duhawk lead down to 11 points with just 1:45 to go. Their momentum fell short however, after a pair of free throws from Criss clinched the game.
 
Game Changer
The Duhawks started the game on a 28-8 run. This early 20 point lead would be more than enough for the Duhawks to earn the victory.
 
Key Stat
Led by Regan Takes, Sean Bourke, and Dominique Criss, the Duhawk bench was able to outscore the bench of Principia by a score of 36-0.
 
 
Notables

 
Quotable
Greg Gorton, head coach
"With Webster we know that they're going to run the 2-3 zone against us. They've also got a great post player down low. All of that coupled with them being a NCAA Tournament team last season leads me to believe that they're going to give us all that we can handle. I believe in our guys and think we will be able to perform to the best of our abilities."
 
Up Next
The Duhawks (3-1) will take the week off for Thanksgiving before coming back home to play the Webster University Gorloks (2-2) in the Athletic and Wellness Center wrapping up their four game home stand. Webster will be arriving in the AWC on the heels of a 69-48 loss to the University of Texas at Dallas.