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

Feb. 12, 2020 – The Loras College men's basketball team (17-6, 10-4 A-R-C) closed the door on the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) series sweep against crosstown rival the University of Dubuque (13-9, 6-7 A-R-C) in the same way it started, outlasting the Spartans for a one-point 72-71 victory on its rival's home court on Wednesday.

JT Ford and Rowan McGowen got the scoring started for the Duhawks before Jackson Kolinski drained three-straight three pointers to extend the lead 13-8 with 17:19 on the clock. Dubuque started to chip away and pulled within one point with 14:51 left in the half before a three-pointer from Carter Stevens gave the Spartans the 19-15 lead.

Kolinski cut the deficit to one with another three-pointer in response, but the Spartans began to build momentum and went on an 11-2 run to lead Loras 30-20 with 9:19 remaining. McGowen and Ford worked to get the Duhawks back within striking distance and a three-pointer from Matt Dacy-Seijo with 2:11 on the clock cut the score 33-34, but the Spartans closed out the half with six unanswered points to lead 40-33 going into the locker room.

Dubuque held onto the lead for the first seven minutes of the half, but hard work on offense for the Duhawks paid off after Kolinski hit a three-pointer to tie the game 50-50. The game soon turned into a neck-and-neck battle and Dubuque found a small break to take a 65-60 lead with 6:01 left to play, but a layup and free throw from Ford and another three-pointer from Kolinski put the Duhawks ahead 66-65 in the final five minutes.

Dubuque's Stevens tied the game again at 67-67 with just over two minutes remaining, but Ford hit back-to-back jump shots to give Loras a 71-67 lead. The Spartans continued to claw their way back into the game up until the final seconds, but a free throw by Dimitric Young and missed shot by Dubuque in the final tenths of a second gave the Duhawks the edge to come away with a 72-71 victory.

Ford led the team with 25 points and three steals and shared the lead for rebounds with Navigato with eight. Kolinski was the Duhawks' sharp shooter beyond the arc, going 6-7 on the night. The win marked the second one-point win for Loras this season against the rival after the Duhawks posted an 88-87 victory against Dubuque when the two teams met at Lillis Court on Jan. 18.

The Duhawks play the final home contest of the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 19, hosting Wartburg College at 7:30 P.M.