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

Feb. 19, 2020 – Outscoring its opponent 47-41 in the second half and posting an unblemished record from the free-throw line, the Loras College men's basketball team (17-7, 10-5 A-R-C) put forth a valiant second-half effort to defeat Wartburg College (10-14, 6-9 A-R-C) on Wednesday night in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) action, but the Duhawks fell short, dropping an 84-81 decision to the Knights.

JT Ford put up the first points of the game for the Duhawks in the opening minute but Wartburg took the lead 12-9 after a three-point shot by Ryan Stulken with 14:37 on the clock. Loras found momentum a few minutes later after Jake Healy drew a foul after draining a three-pointer to put the Duhawks ahead 20-14.

Wartburg took its second lead of the game off another three-pointer, this time from Drew Olson, but Rowan McGowen put the Duhawks back in it with a three-pointer and two free throws on the next play to lead 29-28. Matt Dacy-Seijo did his part a minute later with a layup and drew the foul, giving Loras the 32-30 edge, but the Knights closed out the half with a 13-2 run to lead 43-34.

The Knights quickly extended the lead, 50-36, to open the second half, but just as quickly as it happened, the Duhawks cut it back down, scoring 12 unanswered points to cut Wartburg's lead to two with 15:38 remaining. Wartburg slowly worked to rebuild the lead, but the Duhawks again, thanks to Healy and Ford, brought Loras within three points with 13:14 to play. Back-to-back three pointers by the Knights put the opponents ahead 63-54 with 6:50 remaining until Ford and Healy both hit jump shots to keep Loras within three points.

With just over five minutes left in the game, Ford and Dacy-Seijo scored six points each, including a three-point shot by Dacy-Seijo with 13 seconds remaining. A foul sent Wartburg's Max Drahos to the free-throw line with a few seconds left on the clock, but Drahos missed his free-throw and the Duhawks took back control for the final shot. But time was the enemy for Loras as the clock expired and Wartburg escaped with an 84-81 win.

Ford led the team with 26 points, nine rebounds, and five assists and Healy posted 19 points while McGowen tallied 15 and shot 3-5 for three. Jackson Kolinski was key for the Duhawks on defense as he grabbed eight rebounds and two blocks. As a team, the Duhawks were a perfect 13-13 from the free-throw line.

Loras plays the final game of the regular season on the road at No. 6 Nebraska Wesleyan University on Saturday, Feb. 22. Tip-off in Lincoln, Neb. is set for 4 P.M.