Nov. 30, 2022 – Loras College's men's basketball team needed more than the scheduled 40 minutes to decide it's American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) home opener on Wednesday night as the Duhawks staved off a furious comeback attempt from Coe College to survive with an 86-79 win.

The Duhawks (3-3, 2-0 A-R-C) led by as many as 11 late in the game, but the Kohawks (4-3, 1-1 A-R-C) rallied to force overtime and give the home crowd at the Lillis AWC a real scare.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Duhwks steadily created some separation on the scoreboard during the second period, leading to an 11-point advantage when sophomore guard Alex Singleton connected on a layup to make it 66-55 with under three minutes to play.

From that point on, Coe would outscore Loras 17-6 thanks in part to nine made free throws and a pair of late three-pointers when the Kohawks were in desperation mode.

Cael Schmitt, who led the Kohawks with 25 points on Wednesday night, provided the game-tying basket with just over three seconds remaining as he scampered around the baseline and kept his dribble out to the three-point line for a turnaround jumper to make it 72-72.

The Duhawks threw a long inbounds pass to the front court and promptly called a timeout, but the ensuring would-be game-winning shot from junior guard Ali Sabet rattled out to send the game to overtime.

Despite having the momentum snatched away, the Duhawks came out firing to start the extra period as their first two possessions resulted in three-pointers from sophomore guard Jared Pearson and junior guard Declan Ciurlik. Those buckets gave Loras a three-point lead, which they never relinquished again.  

Each Pearson and junior guard Myles Barry went a perfect 2-for-2 at the free throw line in overtime to help seal the deal while Barry also came away with a late steal that led to a breakaway dunk for freshman guard Gavin Sarvis that served as the final punctuation mark on an exciting conference game.

Sabet led the Duhawks and tied Coe's Schmitt for the game-high with 25 points on an 8-for-21 shooting performance from the field, including a 4-for-11 output from behind the arc. Sabet was joined in double figures by sophomore guard Tyler Bass (14), Ciurlik (14), and Singleton (11).

Sarvis led the team with seven rebounds to tie a career high as all nine Duhawks that saw playing time reeled in at least three rebounds, totaling 43 compared to 33 for the Kohawks.

Loras will look to remain unbeaten in A-R-C play this Saturday, Dec. 3, when they host Buena Vista University at 4 P.M.