Contact: Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

WAVERLY, Iowa (Jan. 11, 2020) – The RV Loras College men's basketball team (10-5, 3-3 A-R-C) fell victim to a second half surge by American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) foe Wartburg College (6-8, 2-3 A-R-C) on Saturday, dropping an 83-65 decision against the Knights.

It was a back-and-forth affair for the two teams from the start as JT Ford put the Duhawks on the board first with a layup off the pass from Cole Navigato. Neither team was going to let the other run away with a big lead until an 11-1 run capped by a three pointer by Ocean Johnson gave Loras a 34-25 lead with 5:35 left in the half. Two more three-pointers from Ford and Jeff Kratz extended the Duhawks' advantage 40-29 with two minutes to play, but Wartburg cut the lead 40-37 off an 8-0 run to close out the half.

Despite layups from Rowan McGowen and Ford, Wartburg found its spark in the second half, pulling away with a 65-49 lead with 8:52 left on the clock. Jake Healy put a halt to the Knights' run with a jumper that forced Wartburg to call a timeout. McGowen, Ford and Navigato all added to the Duhawks' score in the final minutes of the second half, but the Knights had built a lead too large to overthrow as Loras moved to 3-3 in A-R-C action with the 83-65 loss.

McGowan led the Duhawks with 19 points while both Navigato and Ford had 15 points and seven rebounds. Ford also added one block and one steal in addition to two assists.

Loras takes a week to prepare for an A-R-C rival matchup against the University of Dubuque as the Duhawks host the Spartans on Saturday, Jan. 18 for Senior Day. Tip-off inside the Athletic & Wellness Center is set for 4 P.M.