DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's basketball team defeated Central on Wednesday, 109-92. Junior Josh Ruggles paced the Duhawks with 37 points and eight rebounds.

PRESS CONFERENCE (Link)


SERIES NOTABLES
- In the 98th meeting between the two programs, Loras recorded its 67th win over Central and third consecutive

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
- After conceding the lead at 9-7, Loras ripped off a 16-3 run over the next 4:47 of the game, forcing three turnovers and holding Central to 1-of-5 shooting from the floor
- The Duhawks opened a 21-point lead at the 3:54 mark of the first half following a layup by junior Will McClaughry … During the run, Loras was perfect from the floor, which included three 3-pointers by sophomore Matt Dacy-Seijo
- Central cut what was a 19-point Duhawk lead to eight points after an 11-0 run over a span of 2:15 … Andre Johnson scored nine of the 11 points for the Dutch in that span
- Loras pushed its lead back to 19 points thanks to a 14-3 run, led by 10 points from Josh Ruggles
- For the remaining 7:23, the Duhawks maintained their double-digit lead, breaking 100 points on a layup by junior Ryan DiCanio

TEAM NOTABLES
- Loras recorded 12 of its 16 3-pointers in the first half … The Duhawks have had 10 or more 3-pointers in eight of their last nine games
- For the fourth time this season, Loras broke the century mark and is now 4-0 when scoring 100 or more points
- After Monday, the Duhawks have made 200 3-pointers this season … With eight regular season games remaining, Loras needs 67 3-pointers to break last season's mark
- Loras shot 55.9 percent, its second highest performance of the season … The Duhawks are 8-1 when shooting above 50 percent
- In the second half, Loras out-rebounded Central by a 21-10 margin

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
- Ruggles now stands at 607 career points and ranks 10th all-time with 56 3-pointers this season … At 92.2 percent, Ruggles' free-throw conversion rate currently ranks second all-time in program history

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME - Josh Ruggles
- The Wheaton, Ill. native tied his career-high with 37 points, scoring 21 in the second half, including 13-of-13 from the free-throw line … Ruggles raised his free-throw percentage to 92.2 percent for the season … The last free-throw that Ruggles missed came in Loras' win over Carroll on Dec. 17, a span of eight games and 53 consecutive free-throws 

UP NEXT 
Loras heads back on the road to begin it's second half of the Iowa Conference schedule. First up for the Duhawks the second-time around will be Luther. In the first meeting, Loras handed the Norse a 71-51 setback inside the Athletic and Wellness Center. Tip-off from Decorah is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday.