Jan. 25, 2023 – A collective effort for the Loras College men's basketball team led to an exciting 20-point victory on Wednesday night as the Duhawks completed the season sweep of the Simpson College Storm with a 79-59 win.

The Duhawks (13-6, 7-3 A-R-C) outscored the Storm (11-7, 4-6 A-R-C) 44-26 in the second half to run away with one after a well-contested first half. Loras got a boost from its defense and its fast-break offense en route to another big second half.

After leading 35-31 at the halftime break, the Duhawks were off and running to start the second 20-minute period. Loras opened the half with a pair of jumpers for sophomores Tyler Bass and Alex Singleton, setting the tone for a fast-paced period of the game that served as the turning point.

With the lead down to just six with 16 minutes to play, Loras embarked on a 10-0 run that was almost entirely created by fast-break opportunities. The first bucket of the 10-point run came from Bass after junior guard Declan Ciurlik came away with a steal to create a quick two at the other end.

After another Simpson turnover, sophomore guard Jared Pearson connected on a three-pointed on Loras' ensuing possession, then hit another one in transition on the next trip after a quick one-and-done possession for the Storm.

The final touch of the run came when yet another steal by Ciurlik led the way for a transition dunk for Singleton, sending the Duhawk lead up to 16 points and prompting a Simpson timeout.

After that burst, the Duhawks' lead never dipped below 14 points again and rose to as high as 21 as they took care of business from that point forward.

Three Duhawks finished in double figures, but only one starter reached that threshold as Bass finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds to record another double-double. Pearson led all scorers with 18 points off the bench thanks in part to going 4-for-6 from behind the three-point line.

Pearson was joined off the bench by senior forward Zach Deering, who finished with a career-high 17 points. Deering was 7-for-10 from the field, including a 2-for-3 performance from deep to leave his mark on the game. Six of his points came from second-chance layups as he totaled five rebounds in the game with four being on the offensive glass.

Loras will get a pseudo-bye week this weekend as it gets seven days to prepare for its next game, which is scheduled for next Wednesday, Feb. 1 on the road at Coe College at 7:30 P.M.