WAUKESHA, Wis. (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's basketball team fell to the undefeated Carroll Pioneers on Saturday, 83-78. Junior Justin VanWambeke and senior Mirko Grcic nearly carried the Duhawks to victory, combining for 53 points. VanWambeke's 27-point night was combined with five rebounds and five assists. The junior shot an efficient 8-of-13 from the floor, including 4-of-6 from deep, and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe.

TURNING POINT
Carroll (7-0) went on a 8-1 run in the final minute of overtime to secure their seventh victory of the season. Both teams played a back-and-forth game for the entirety of the second half before Carroll pulled through in the extra period.

HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
The first half was a game of runs in Van Male Fieldhouse, with each team using extended runs  to keep them in the game. Following an early 9-2 lead for the Duhawks, Carroll used the play of guard Kyle Keranen to take a 25-16 lead. Keranen finished the half with 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting.

Loras wasn't down for long however, going on a 13-0 run of their own to take a 29-25 lead. This run was capped off by a series of plays from VanWambeke who hit a 3-pointer prior to assisting freshman Michael Mims on a shot from beyond the arc of his own.

Carroll had no answer for senior Mirko Grcic's strong inside presence, resulting in 11 first half points for the senior. Grcic hit two free throws in the final seconds of the half to give the Duhawks a 31-30 lead at the break.


SECOND HALF
Loras led by as much as seven points in the second half, but a late surge from Carroll saw the Duhawks trailing as the half hit its final seconds. VanWambeke hauled in a rebound off a missed jumper that he took coast-to-coast to tie the game at 68 to push the game to overtime.

VanWambeke scored a total of 14 points in the second half which was key for Loras. The combination of VanWambeke and Grcic was strong, but the Duhawks lacked a third scoring option in comparison to Carroll who had four players score in double digits.

Senior Justin Schneider was the top alternative for Loras, scoring the third most points on the team with eight. The duo of Schneider and Grcic helped Loras outscore Carroll in the paint, 42-34.


OVERTIME
Thanks to four consecutive free throws from VanWambeke the Duhawks took a 75-71 lead in overtime with just under two minutes to play.

Unfortunately for Loras, a pair of turnovers with under a minute to play opened the door for the Pioneers to make their charge back into the game. The Pioneers took advantage of the two turnovers, converting them into four points in the closing seconds. Carroll succeeded in scoring off turnovers all night, with 25 points stemming from the Duhawks 23 turnovers.


FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME
Justin VanWambeke | The junior scored a season-high 27 points against Carroll on Saturday alongside five rebounds and five assists. This performance brings VanWambeke's season scoring average to 15.6 points per game.


UP NEXT
The Duhawks will take time off for the holiday's before heading to Phoenix, Arizona for the "Grand Canyon Classic". While there, Loras will face University of Southern Maine and Keene State College.