Dec. 3, 2022 – A gritty performance from Loras College's men's basketball team earned the Duhawks a hard-fought win on Saturday afternoon as they held off the Buena Vista University Beavers 75-67 to stay unbeaten in American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) play.

The Duhawks (4-3, 3-0 A-R-C) trailed just once in the game, a 5-4 deficit to the Beavers (4-4, 0-2 A-R-C) in the opening minutes, and controlled the pace of play for much of the contest despite the Beavers keeping things tight.

Loras built a 29-16 lead late in the first half before the Beavers cut the deficit down to nine before the halftime break. That momentum carried into the second half as the Beavers erased that deficit completely to storm back and tie the game at 40-40 after an 18-9 scoring run.

Big three-pointers from three different Beavers helped silence the crowd at the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center, but the Duhawks weren't kept down for long as a quick 7-0 run, punctuated by a steal and a transition layup from junior guard Myles Barry, created some separation.
Weathering that storm proved to be the deciding factor for the Duhawks as the Beavers hung around but never pulled the score back to a one possession game again.

This game featured the top two scorers in the A-R-C so far this season as Buena Vista's Zane Neubaum came in averaging 21.7 points per game, ahead of Loras junior guard Ali Sabet at 20.0 points per game. While those two players finished in double figures with 17 and 12 points, respectively, it was Duhawk sophomore guard Tyler Bass who stole the show and put on one of the best performances of his career.

Bass led all scorers with a career-high 25 points on a red-hot 9-for-13 shooting performance from the field. The shooting guard made eight of his 10 attempts from inside the arc, including a pair of baseline jump shots that proved to be impossible for the Beavers to defend. The Washington, Ill. product also finished with eight rebounds and tied for the team lead with three steals to step up and lead his Duhawks to a win.

Junior forward Alex Singleton ranked second on the team behind Bass with 14 points while leading the team with nine rebounds. Singleton struggled to find the nylon early in the game and even missed his first three free throw attempts in the second half, but found a rhythm late and make each of his final five attempts from the line to play a pivotal role in the Duhawks holding off the Beavers.

Sabet (12) and sophomore guard Jared Pearson (11) each sank a pair of three-pointers to finish in double digits as well.

Sitting at 3-0 in conference play after a tough victory, the Duhawks will get a break and get back to nonconference action as they take on the University of Wisconsin-Stout on Friday, Dec. 9 in Menomonie, Wis. at 7 P.M.