ST. LOUIS (Duhawks.com) – Following a heartbreaking loss to Principia on Thursday, the Loras College men's basketball team earned their second victory of the season Saturday night. By a final score of 67-61, the Duhawks (2-1) defeated Webster University. Senior Mirko Grcic led the Duhawks in both points and rebounds with a 23 point, 14 rebound performance.

TURNING POINT
By outscoring the Gorloks (0-2) 39-27 in the second half, Loras turned the tides. The Duhawks opened the half on a 15-4 run and never looked back. Grcic and VanWambeke both secured double-doubles in the second half of play.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Period
Loras got out to a slow start to begin the game, falling into a 20-5 deficit early. The Duhawks eventually found their stride however to bring the game under double-digits heading into halftime trailing 34-28. The play by Grcic was largely responsible for Loras only trailing by six, as he senior finished with 11 points and four rebounds in the first half. The senior was forced into utilizing his jumper, but made the opposition pay. Loras struggled shooting the ball in the first, converting on just 10-of-26 shot attempts and 3-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Second Period
The Duhawks fared much better in the second half, outscoring the Gorloks, 39-27. Loras opened the second half on a 15-4 run to take a 41-36 lead. After amping up their defense, the Duhawks held Webster to 22.9 percent shooting from the floor as opposed to Loras' 40.6 percent. In the first half, Webster had shot 50 percent. Improvements were also made on the perimeter as Loras held the Gorloks to 3-of-19 shooting from deep.  Defense was the name of the game for the Duhawks who won by six, despite an off shooting night. Grcic added an additional 12 points in the second half to pace the Duhawks who struggled to find an offensive consistency.

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Mirko Grcic | Grcic led the Duhawks in scoring for the second time this season with a 23-point performance. In the process, Grcic recorded his third consecutive double-double to open the season.

UP NEXT
Loras travels to Rockford, Illinois to face-off against the Regents on Tuesday before taking a quick break for Thanksgiving. The Duhawks defeated Rockford by a final of 88-85 last season. VanWambeke led all scorers with 21 points thanks to his 13-of-15 shooting from the charity stripe.