STORM LAKE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) – For the second time in as many games, the Loras Men's Basketball team allowed their opponent to build an insurmountable second half lead. On Wednesday, it was Buena Vista who stretched the lead in the second half on their way to a 96-80 victory. The Duhawks were led in scoring by sophomore Domonique Criss who finished with 19 points. Senior Nathaniel Smith added 16 on 5-of-14 shooting, while junior Mirko Grcic added 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Siebens Fieldhouse was the site of a rampant scoring streak in the first half as Buena Vista shot 60 percent from the floor, including 9-of-16 from beyond the arc. Nick Clark led the charge going 6-of-7 from 3-point land. While Loras shot a respectable 47.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes, they had a hard time keeping pace with Buena Vista.

The difference at the half was simply due to the fact that Buena Vista sunk six more 3-pointers than the Duhawks and Loras had missed a handful of shots from close range. Heading into the break the Duhawks trailed by 10 in a high scoring affair, 52-42.

Coming out of the half, the Duhawks suffered the same stalled start as they had the previous game against Dubuque. In that game, the Spartans jumped out to a 19-2 run to begin the half. Wednesday the blow taken by Loras was even worse. Over the course of seven minutes, Buena Vista rode a 20-3 scoring advantage.

This margin proved to be way too much to overcome. The Beavers continued to churn out points at will, pushing their lead to as much as 29 with 11:27 to play in the half.

With five minutes to play, both teams turned the game over their respective benches, which allowed for Loras to close the gap to 16 at the final buzzer.