Contact: Mark Johnson, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications, 563-588-7970

Feb. 1, 2020- The Loras College men's basketball team (14-6, 7-4 A-R-C) started hot and finished hot against American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) opponent Simpson College (10-10, 4-7 A-R-C) to come away with an 85-67 home win against the Storm on Saturday.

The Duhawks got on the scoreboard first after two free throws from Cole Navigato and never looked back holding the lead for the rest of the half. At the halfway point in the first half, the Duhawks extended their lead to seven points after a layup from Jake Healy. Simpson kept fighting keeping themselves in the game with some quick buckets of their own but Loras stepped up their intensity on defense and took advantage of every offensive opportunity extending their lead to eight points after a three-point basket from Rowan McGowen with 8:14 left in the first half.

Despite the Storm's best efforts to regain the lead, the Duhawks kept a two-possession lead for the rest of the half heading into the locker room ahead 41-37.

Jake Healy scored the opening layup of the second half followed by two quick layups from JT Ford to extend the Duhawks lead to 10 points. Simpson cut the Duhawk lead back to single digits but a layup from Cole Navigato put Loras back on top by double digits and the Duhawks kept that double-digit lead for the rest of the game. While the Storm tried to keep the pressure on the Duhawks to regain the lead the offensive attack of the Duhawks was too much after they extended their lead to 20 points after two free throws from McGowen with 4:41 left to play in the second half. Simpson answered with a quick layup of their own but with McGowen silencing the Storm scoring the last five points for the Duhawks to secure an 85-67 home victory over the Storm.

The Duhawks were led by McGowen with 29 points and another big game for Ford posting 23 points and a team-high 16 rebounds for the double-double. Healy had 13 points and 4 assists while Navigato added 12 points and eight rebounds of his own.

The Duhawks resume A-R-C action on Wednesday, Feb. 5 as they travel to Storm Lake, Iowa as they face off against Buena Vista University. Tip-off against the Beavers is set for 7:30 P.M.