Contact:
Emily Adlfinger, Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970
PELLA, Iowa (Jan. 29, 2020) - Never faltering despite its opponent's best efforts, the Loras College men's basketball team (13-6, 6-4 A-R-C) rallied behind senior
JT Ford's career night and battled the entire 40 minutes against Central College (4-15, 1-9 A-R-C) to come away with a 79-72 road win against the Dutch on Wednesday.
The first half saw 15 lead changes as both teams fought for control in a back and forth contest. A three-pointer from Ford gave the Duhawks the largest lead for the first ten minutes, ahead 6-3, until Kade Terrell hit a jumper that put the Dutch ahead by three, 15-12, with 10:38 to play until halftime. Central pulled ahead by three again but
Rowan McGowen made a layup before drawing a foul to shoot a free throw that tied the game 19-19 with under nine on the clock.
Both teams traded points for the remainder of the first half but the Duhawks headed into the locker room up 36-34 after Ford grabbed an offensive rebound with four seconds on the clock to make his layup and the and-one.
Central scored the opening layup of the second half but
Jake Healy and Ford hit back-to-back three-pointers to take a six-point lead with 16:58 left to play. A jump shot from Healy a minute later helped bring the Duhawks' lead to eight points, although the Dutch came within one point off a pair of free throws from Adam Flinn with 9:47 on the clock. The threat of a comeback win for the Dutch was short-lived as two three-pointers from McGowen and one from Healy helped Loras extend the lead back to eight points en route to a hard fought 79-72 win.
Ford had a tremendous game, posting a career-high 31 points in the win, shooting 12-17 from the field and grabbing nine rebounds. McGowen had 18 points and Healy tallied 16 with each collecting six rebounds.
The Duhawks resume American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) action on Saturday, Feb. 1 as they host Simpson College inside the Athletic & Wellness Center. Tip-off against the Storm is set for 4 P.M.
