DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – The Loras Men's Basketball team needed the full 40 minutes on Wednesday night, as they defeated Wartburg College 68-67 thanks in part to a last-second layup from sophomore Domonique Criss. Junior Mirko Grcic finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds while senior Nathaniel Smith led the scoring affair with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

For the first time in recent history, it was the Duhawks who were the ones with the hot start, jumping out to a 9-4 lead and forcing a quick timeout by the Knights just four minutes into the game.

It took some time, but Wartburg fought their way back, finally taking the lead with 8:40 to play in the first half after going on a 13-7 run.

The remainder of the first half saw neither team take full control, trading the lead back and forth eight times. Wartburg closed on a brief 3-0 run to take the lead into the break, 31-28. Grcic finished the half with 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting, with his only miss being a 3-point attempt.

Wartburg came out of the break with a 14-8 run, pushing their lead to nine less than five minutes into the second half. The nine-point advantage was the largest that either team enjoyed all night.

Need a response, Loras turned to its senior leaders, Smith and Aaron Schueller, who stepped up in their experienced leadership roles and helped kickstart the 14-5 run that gave Loras their first lead of the second half.'

From there, the Duhawks began to attack the paint, as their next five baskets came off drives to the bucket thanks to an increase in tempo in their attack.

Refusing to go away without a fight, the Knights fought their way back and grabbed a 65-62 advantage with less than two minutes to play.

Following a Smith layup to cut the lead to one, Loras was faced with their most important defensive possession of the game. Working nearly the entire shot clock, Loras forced a poor shot selection from Nick Webber and Grcic was there to grab the rebound.

Smith would once again be the answer for the Duhawks, sinking a jumper from the free throw line with 50 seconds remaining.

The Knights answered right back with a bucket of their own, thanks to nick Webber who put Wartburg ahead with 17 seconds to play with a 15-foot jumper.

The Duhawks, without hesitation, inbounded the ball and pushed it up the floor. As they got into their offensive set, Domonique Criss drove to the left of the lane to the block. Seeing an opening, Criss tossed up a shot high off the glass where it hit the front of the rim and fell back through the net.

As the Athletic and Wellness Center erupted, Wartburg inbounded the ball and threw up a last-second attempt but was denied.