DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - The Loras men's basketball team opened its 2018-19 season with a firefight, fending off Greenville, 147-129. Josh Ruggles and Ryan DiCanio combined for 68 points to lead the offensive onslaught.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
• After falling behind 10-4 early, Jordan Boyd made an immediate impact in his first collegiate basketball game, slamming home back-to-back dunks to shift the momentum back to the Duhawks. 
• In a game that saw action go back and forth for the majority of the first half, the Panthers went on a 29-14 run to give them their largest lead of the night at 48-31
• With 1:54 left in the first half, Demond George and Rowan McGowen nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to narrow the deficit to two at 61-59 with under two minutes to go in the first half
• DiCanio's jumper in the paint at 16:25 brought the two sides level since 12:58 of the opening half
• Down the stretch, Loras benefited from an 18-5 run that spanned from 4:26 until 1:23, which put the game to rest
 
NOTABLES
• The Duhawks conceded five defensive rebounds to Greenville in the second half
• Loras improves to 2-0 all-time against the Panthers in its first meeting since the 2013-14 season
• Ruggles set a new career-high with 17 made free-throws and finished three points shy of his all-time career-best … Ruggles eight assists set a new single-game high … He needs 122 points to reach 1,000 for his career
• Jake Toman set a new career-high with 12 rebounds as did McGowen
• Chris Martin improves to 3-0 in season-opener's since taking over the program in 2016, including 2-0 from inside the Athletic & Wellness Center
• As a team, Loras finished two shy of the single game free-throw record, set in the 2016-17 season against Aurora (42)
 
 
UP NEXT
Loras continues its home stand to start the season next week against St. Scholastica. The Saints open their season next Friday following a 17-9 campaign in 2017-18. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.