CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's basketball team topped Coe in it's Iowa Conference opener, 81-76, on Wednesday. Junior Josh Ruggles paced the Duhawk offense with 25 points while adding six rebounds and five assists.

POST GAME PRESS CONFERENCE (Link)


SERIES NOTABLES
• Loras has won the last seven of the nine meetings and owns the all-time series record at 39-23

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
• Loras took it's first lead of the night after a 3-pointer from junior Josh Ruggles, his second of the night at 17:09 for an 8-5 lead
• A Kohawk 3-pointer turned the tides and forced a Duhawk timeout as Coe took their biggest lead up until that point in the game
• Junior Ryan DiCanio found Ruggles for another three that brought Loras within one with 11:21 remaining in the half
• To begin the second half, Loras mounted its comeback thanks to a 18-6 run, led by nine points from Ruggles … From 15:44 of the half until 9:40, Coe went scoreless and committed five turnovers
• A three from Ruggles paired with a steal and layup from senior Justin Busch created a 59-55 lead for the Duhawks and forced a Coe timeout
• Both teams combined to go 20-for-23 from the free-throw line to end the game

TEAM NOTABLES
• Wednesday marked the second consecutive game in which Loras won after holding a lead for less time than its opponent
• The Duhawks turned their eight offensive rebounds into 15 points
• Loras finished 22-of-26 from the free-throw line, its highest total this season
• The Duhawks improved to 3-0 this season when shooting above 50.0 percent from the floor

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
• Ruggles defended his honor as IIAC Athlete of the Week, scoring a game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting … Wednesday marked his fourth consecutive game scoring 20 or more points and pushed his scoring average to 24.2 points per game
• Junior Jake Toman led Loras in rebounding with seven, including four offensive rebounds and chipped in 17 points, his second highest scoring output this season
• With six assists on Wednesday, DiCanio now has 160 for his career and 24 this season

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME - JAKE TOMAN
• The Verona, Wis. native tallied 17 points for Loras while adding seven rebounds and one block … On Wednesday, he passed the century mark for rebounds in his career and raised his scoring average this season to 12.0 points per game

UP NEXT
• The Duhawks return home to host Luther in a 4 p.m. tip off on Saturday from inside the Athletic & Wellness Center … The Norse fell on Wednesday to Central, 86-82