DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – Following a 104-67 victory over Eureka College on Saturday and a quick turn-around, the Loras College men's basketball team was defeated by UW-La Crosse Monday night by a final score of 77-72. The Duhawks fell victim to a 43-20 deficit at halftime, before stringing together a strong comeback effort. Junior Justin VanWambeke led the team with a season-high 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting.

TURNING POINT
The lead that the Eagles (3-3) mounted in the first half proved too large to conquer for Loras (3-3), who trailed by 23 at halftime. La Crosse managed to consistently build their lead without letting Loras dig into it. Shooting hurt the Duhawks, who cashed in on only 1-of-11 3-point attempts in the first half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
UW-La Crosse controlled the game from the get-go, shooting 55.2 percent from the floor in the first. Their ability to hit shots from beyond the arc plagued the Duhawks defensively. The Eagles drained 8-of-14 shots from deep as opposed to Loras' lone 3-point basket. This set the teams apart for a majority of the half.

What hurt Loras the most in the first half was their inability to score in the post with eight points in the paint. The Duhawks were blocked on six attempts in the first half and senior Mirko Grcic was held to 1-of-7 shooting. Loras also struggled to distribute the ball, resulting in just five first half assists.

Second Half
A fire was lit under the Duhawks at halftime who came out with a brand new energy. Loras began knocking down open shots in the second half that weren't there in the first, resulting in cutting UW-La Crosse's lead to 11. VanWambeke led that charge, scoring 16 second half points. Behind VanWambeke was freshman Demond George who scored in double-figures for the third time this season, finishing with 16.

A major credit also goes to freshman Ryan DiCanio who despite an off shooting night managed to grab a total of eight rebounds and shoot 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. His eight boards ranked second on the team. Defensively, Loras held the Eagles to just 34.8 percent shooting in the second half, which helped fuel the Duhawks resurgence. If not for the play of Devin Yurk, who tallied 18 points in the second, Loras may have completed the comeback.

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Justin VanWambeke | The Machesney Park native took control of the game, leading to a season-high 23-point performance. With this performance, the junior raised his season scoring average to 13.5 points per game. VanWambeke also contributed four rebounds to the team total of 44.

UP NEXT
Loras takes a week off before traveling to UW-Platteville next Tuesday. The Pioneers enter their next game against North Central (Ill.) with a 4-2 record which features wins over several Iowa Conference opponents.