DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - Following a close defeat at the hands of UW-Platteville on Tuesday, the Loras men's basketball scored an upset victory over Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday night, 92-81. The Duhawks (4-4), scored 57 points in the second half to come back from a five-point halftime deficit. Senior
Mirko Grcic led the way, breaking out of a mini-slump to score 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor.
TURNING POINTLoras opened the second half on a 13-4 run, taking their first lead of the game in the process. This run was sparked by the play of Grcic and junior
Justin VanWambeke, who's hot shooting paved the way for Loras' fast-paced offense.
HOW IT HAPPENEDFIRST HALFThe first half started as a back and forth contest, with each team jockeying for momentum. Loras fell into an early 13-5 deficit, as the Titans (4-3) started strong, most notably from distance. The Duhawks eventually took the lead in the first half, 16-15 thanks to a series of baskets from freshman
Will Kellerman. Kellerman finished the first half with four points, all of which came in that sequence.
Nearing the end of the half, Loras started to struggle, allowing Illinois Wesleyan to go on an 11-0 run to take a 36-25 advantage. The Titans relied heavily on their perimeter shooting abilities, hitting 7-of-18 attempts in the half.
To end the half the Duhawks went on an extended run of their own to pull back within single digits at the halftime break, 40-35. Grcic was a major factor for Loras in the first, scoring 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
SECOND HALFLoras looked like a different team in the second half, outscoring Illinois Wesleyan 57-41. As a team, the Duhawks shot 75.9 percent from the floor in the second, trumping the Titans 48.5 percent. Defensively, Loras held the Titans to 2-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc.
The combination of Grcic and VanWambeke was too much for the Titans to handle all night, combining to score 48 of the teams 92 points. After scoring just two points in the first half, VanWambeke rallied to scored 20 in the second. His play was instrumental to the Duhawks success in the second half.
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A slew of Duhawks saw their most meaningful minutes of the season, with freshman
Will Kellerman and
Nolan Timp each scoring career-highs in points. Kellerman had his best game as a Duhawk, contributing nine points off the bench, while Timp added six points in 14 minutes.
A key take-away for the Duhawks was their ability to limit turnovers, finishing with 19 assists and 12 turnovers.
FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Mirko Grcic | Grcic broke out of a slump in a big way on Saturday, scoring his second most points of the season. His 26 points was a game-high for both teams and his nine rebounds left him one short of his second double-double of the season.
SOUNDBITES | Justin VanWambeke and Mirko GrcicSOUNDBITES | Greg GortonUP NEXTLoras will travel to Waukesha, Wisconsin next Saturday to take on Carroll University. The Pioneers improved to 6-0 on the year and 4-0 in the Midwest Conference with a 109-102 win over Grinnell on Saturday. Carroll is led by Bryan Nagy, who averages 13.8 points per game on a stellar 63.2 percent shooting. Nagy also leads the Pioneers in rebounds with 9.8 per game.
