DUBUQUE, Iowa (Duhawks.com) - After falling short in the two regular season meetings, the No. 18 Loras men's basketball team took it to its inner-city rival on Thursday night, defeating Dubuque, 93-78. Will McClaughry set the tone early with 17 first half points as the Duhawks advanced to the conference tournament championship for the first time since 2008.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
• Jordan Boyd opened scoring for both sides after fighting for the offensive rebound before finishing with a two-point basket
• Cole Navigato followed up Boyd's effort with an offensive rebound and a put-back layup of his own
• McClaughry made an immediate impact off the bench, knocking down a wing trey at the end of the shot clock before denying the Spartan attacker at the rim on the next possession
• McClaughry's defensive presence sparked a Loras run that saw Dubuque held scoreless for four minutes as the Duhawks extended their lead to 19 points with 4:58 remaining in the half
• Demond George hit one of his four field goals after sprinting through the double screen before nailing the corner 3-pointer to force a Spartan timeout
• Following a quick break, McClaughry returned to the game and ignited the crowd with an and-1 3-pointer from the top of the key
• With time winding down in the first half, George received the outlet pass and fed a driving Jordan Boyd for the finish and the foul
• Although both teams came out of the halftime break slow, Loras was the first to get things going as they rattled off a quick 11-2 run over the first five minutes
• With the ball bouncing just off the rim, Navigato flew through the lane and finessed in the put back layup, bumping Loras' lead back to up to 20
• Josh Ruggles found his stroke late in the second as he connected on a transition 3-pointer to give Loras a 24-point lead, its largest of the game
• With 7:39 remaining, Navigato rose up for the poster dunk, giving the Purple & Gold a 23-point lead at 78-55
• The Duhawks were money from the charity stripe down the stretch, connecting on 13-of-16 from the line to seal the win

NOTABLES
• Loras held the lead for 98 percent of the game
• McClaughry's 17 first half points set a new career-high
• The Duhawks had a season-low in turnovers with five
• Loras scored 21 points off Spartan turnovers
• Ryan DiCanio moved into sixth all-time in program history with 1,623 points, passing Tom Jackson who totaled 1,619 from 1966-70 … The senior is nine assists from setting a new season-best
• George needs eight points to pass his previous season-best scoring total of 331, set in the 2016-17 season

UP NEXT
After splitting the season series, Loras travels travel to Lincoln, Neb. for the American Rivers Conference Tournament Championship against top-seeded and No. 1 Nebraska Wesleyan. In Thursday's semifinal, the Prairie Wolves held on for the 85-80 win over Simpson. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.