LINCOLN, Neb. (Duhawks.com) - In a battle for conference supremacy, the Loras men's basketball team fell to league-leading Nebraska Wesleyan on Wednesday night, 108-92. Josh Ruggles ripped off a career-high 42 points, converting on nine 3-pointers to lead the Duhawks in the loss.

PRESS CONFERENCE (Link)


MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
- Nebraska Wesleyan ran out to a 9-0 lead to start the game … Ryan DiCanio scored Loras' first points of the game on a layup at the 16:33 mark
- The Duhawks spent nearly 20 minutes trailing by 10 or more points spanning from 11:04 of the first half until 12:47 of the second half
- In the first 20:08 of play, the Prairie Wolves had three runs of six or more points
- Ruggles and Cole Navigato combined to lead the comeback beginning at 17:30 of the second half, outscoring Nebraska Wesleyan 26-12 over 5:56 of play
- After Loras cut the deficit to three at 77-74 with 10:22 after a 3-pointer by Ruggles, the Prairie Wolves halted the comeback bid with a 23-11 run, going 8-of-9 from the floor and forcing five consecutive misses from beyond the arc by the Duhawks
- Nebraska Wesleyan held a double-digit lead for the final 3:38, handing Loras its fourth conference loss in the season

TEAM NOTABLES
- Loras broke a pair of team season records on Wednesday, both pertaining to 3-point shooting … The Duhawks broke the season record for 3-pointers (261), previously held by the 1990-91 team of 253 … Additionally, Loras broke last season's record of 666 attempted 3-pointers and currently sit at 677 … With three regular season games remaining, Loras needs 15 assists to break the single season record of 466 set in 1991-92
- The Duhawks were outscored 50-30 in the paint and 21-17 on the fast break

INDIVIDUAL NOTABLES
- Ruggles was one 3-pointer short of tying the school record for most in a single game … Chris Jans holds the record of 10 from the 1990-91 season
- Ryan DiCanio broke into the top-10 all-time for assists in a season with 107 … The last Duhawk to break 100 assists in a season was Connor Mooney in 2009-10 
- Ruggles moved into third all-time for 3-pointers in a season with 78, passing Jason Randl who had 72 in the 1995-96 season
- After going 5-for-5 on Wednesday, Ruggles needs 10 free-throws to crack the top-10 all-time at Loras
- Navigato finished with a career-high 16 points, scoring 13 in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting

FRIEDMAN GROUP PLAYER OF THE GAME - Josh Ruggles
- Ruggles tallied 18 of his 42 points during a span of 9:30 to start the second half in which the Duhawks cut Nebraska Wesleyan's lead from 17 to three … His 42 points are a career-high and brings his scoring total to 485 this season and 741

UP NEXT
Loras hosts Buena Vista on Saturday for Senior Day. The Beavers were upset by Dubuque on Wednesday night, falling 92-84. Tip-off from Lillis Court is scheduled for 4 p.m.