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

Jan. 8, 2022 – A full-fledged team effort and efficiency on offense helped fuel the Loras College men's basketball team's 98-59 win against Central College (3-10, 0-5 A-R-C) on Saturday as the Duhawks (11-3, 3-2 A-R-C) avenged their 2021 American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) tournament loss to the Dutch in dominant fashion.

The Dutch, who had last beaten the Duhawks in the quarterfinals of the tournament last winter, looked to come out with energy in the game, scoring the first points, but a three-pointer by Rowan McGowen and back-to-back buckets by Jackson Kolinski and Cole Navigato got Loras going. A three-pointer for the Dutch tied the game 13-13 with 13:34 left in the half but a pair of free-throws by Declan Ciurlik started a 6-0 run that put Loras up 19-13. Jake Healy knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to put the Duhawks ahead by ten and Tyler Bass tacked on four more points as Loras began to run away with the lead, up 31-17 with 6:42 remaining in the half. Central chipped away and came back within ten with 2:19 on the clock but another three-ball by McGowen and a layup by Ali Sabet at the buzzer gave the Duhawks a nice 42-28 cushion at the half.

Kolinski and Ciurlik opened the second half with a pair of quick layups before Sabet and McGowen teamed up for a 9-0 three-point run, growing Loras' lead, 55-30. A layup by Bass on the next possession started the freshman's hot run as he came away with a layup off a turnover on the next play and turned around for a steal he took coast to coast for the dunk. Loras continued to shoot well from three-point range as Ciurlik and Sabet added a pair and growing the lead, 80-41 with just under ten minutes remaining. Central could not find room to breakaway as the Duhawks continued to push an unrelenting offense through the remainder of the game.

Sabet led the team with his second-straight 23-point performance with 5-7 shooting from three-point range, 9-19 from the field and adding three assists. Bass scored 16 points off the bench and grabbed two steals while McGowen scored 13 points and Ciurlik added 11 off the bench with a team-high our assists. Kolinski led the team defensively with eight rebounds. The Duhawks saw 42 points scored off the bench and added 44 in the paint in addition to the advantage of 75 percent free throw shooting and out-rebounding the Dutch 43-20.

Loras makes the short trip down the road to face crosstown rival, the University of Dubuque, on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Tip-off at the Stoltz Sports Center is set for 7:30 P.M.