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

Mar. 1, 2021 – The Loras College men's basketball team (7-4, 4-3 A-R-C)  finished the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) regular season slate at home with a win on Monday evening, cruising to an 84-62 victory against Luther College (1-7, 1-7 A-R-C) and continuing the series win streak with its 12th-straight win against the Norse.

The Norse capitalized on their first possession to take their only lead of the game in the opening minute before Jake Healy made a three-pointer and followed up with a jump shot on the next possession to lead 5-2. Luther saw a three-pointer by Matthew Franzen to tie the game but Healy answered back with another three ball and Juan Avila, Myles Barry, Rowan McGowen, David Grintjes and Clark Griffen put on a show on offense, scoring 14 unanswered points to take a 19-5 lead with 12:17 left in the half. Cole Navigato kept it rolling, forcing a turnover and taking it to the rim for a dunk, and Jackson Kolinski added three points of his own as Loras extended the lead to 19 points. Luther worked to chip away at the deficit with ten points by Anthony Westhusing to close out the half, but Loras kept its distance and lead, 41-28, heading into halftime.

Luther came out looking to build momentum with a layup on the opening possession but a layup by Navigato and three-pointer by Griffen kept the Duhawks in control, 46-31, early in the second half. The Norse tried to get their offense throughout the first part of the half, but a layup by Navigato put the Duhawks ahead by 18 points and sparked a 13-3 run spanning four minutes to give Loras a 74-46 advantage with 7:05 left to play. Westhusing hit another three-pointer to stop the run and Aaron Blumberg followed suit with one of his own but Loras answered back with a jump shot by Healy and a three-pointer for Savage off a blocked shot by Zach Deering to give the Duhawks the ball and an 81-52 lead. The Norse closed out the game with a 10-3 run, but it was not enough to overtake Loras' commanding lead.

McGowen and Healy both had 16 points on the night with McGowen draining four three-pointers and Healy shooting 70 percent from the field. Healy also had a team-high four assists and three steals. Navigato added flare to the Duhawks' offense with two dunks and helped lead the defensive efforts with five rebounds alongside Kolinski and Savage.

The Duhawks finish the regular season with a 4-5 record in conference play and await their opponent for the first round of the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament on Tuesday, Mar. 9.