DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – After enjoying a short break for the holiday, the Duhawks returned to the Athletic & Wellness Center on Saturday evening for a non-conference match up with the Webster Gorloks. Loras jumped out to an early lead before carrying an eight point advantage into the locker room at halftime but the Gorloks battled back in the second half to force overtime. The Duhawks failed to find an offensive rhythm in the final five minutes, eventually falling 92-88.

Trailing by one with 8:42 to play in the first half, senior Bobby Harmening found sophomore Dominque Criss for a quick three-pointer to put Loras in front 21-19. Back-to-back steals from Criss and sophomore Danny Quinn held Webster scoreless, but Loras failed to convert on the offensive end. Moments later, sophomore Justin VanWambeke stepped in front of a Gorlok pass and cashed in for an easy layup on the other end, extending Loras' lead to six.

Leading by one with 2:06 to play in the first half, junior Mirko Grcic collected the offensive board and earned a trip to the charity stripe after being fouled on the put-back attempt. Grcic split a pair from the line before pulling down a defensive rebound following a Gorlok miss. Pushing the ball up the court, senior Bobby Harmening found Grcic in transition. With his defender on his back, Grcic used a strong fake to elude the pressure before converting on the floater.

With time dwindling and the Duhawks on a run, Grcic grabbed an offensive rebound and found Criss cutting to the basket for two-points. The second chance opportunity sent the Duhawks to the locker room with a 38-32 advantage.

Carrying their momentum over from the first half, the Duhawks opened the second half with an 11-0 run, forcing an early timeout by Webster. The break failed to cut the momentum as the Duhawks pushed their lead to as many as 17 before holding a 16-point lead with 3:32 to play.

Loras' double digit lead was quickly erased as the Gorloks scored 11 unanswered points to pull within five, 72-67. Over the course of the remaining two minutes, Webster outscored Loras 8-2 to force overtime.
With 46 seconds left to play in overtime, the Duhawks found themselves trailing 90-81. Criss kickstarted the comeback charge with a fast-tempo possession, finishing with a layup attempt. As his shot fell off the rim, Grcic tracked down the rebound and sank a short jumper.

Moments later, Criss and Schueller double-teamed the Gorloks in the backcourt, forcing a turnover. On the ensuing in-bounds play, the hot-handed Schueller garnered much of Webster's defensive attention, leaving VanWambeke open on the weak side. With the defense out of position, VanWambeke nailed the three, pulling the Duhawks within four, 90-86.

Following the momentum shifting shot, the Duhawks forced another turnover by Webster. This time, Ahmad Smith got caught near the sideline and inadvertently stepped out of bounds, turning possession over to Loras. The Duhawks initial play bounced off the rim but Grcic grabbed it before laying it in to cut the deficit to two, 90-88.

Tight defense on the ensuing in-bounds play forced the Gorloks to heave the half-court pass in-bounds. Unable to get a hand on it, Grcic just missed the steal and was forced to foul with three tenths of a second to play. The foul sent the Gorloks to the line where Aaron Griffin converted two of two to put the game out of reach.