DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College men's basketball team trailed by six with less than two minutes remaining but went on an 8-1 run to close out a thrilling 79-78 victory over Wisconsin Lutheran College on Saturday night inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.

Ali Sabet finished with a team-high 24 points, going 7-for-14 from the field, in addition to 8-for-8 from the free throw line to lead Loras. Jack Haynes turned in his second straight double-double, registering 16 points and 10 rebounds on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor.

Tyler Bass was the last Duhawk to finish with double digit points, as the junior forward had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, while finishing one rebound shy (9) of a double-double.

The Duhawks (11-1 overall, 2-1 American Rivers Conference) shot well in the first half, going 16-of-30 (53.55 percent) from the field, but the Warriors (10-2) found ways to counter almost every Loras basket. The two programs played a tight half with the lead never amounting to more than five on either side for a majority of play, but Loras managed to get itself into the half with an eight point advantage (40-32) after Sabet connected on a three pointer with 56 seconds to play.

After back-to-back baskets by Sabet on Loras' first two possessions of the second half to put the Purple and Gold up 13 (45-32), Wisconsin Lutheran put together a 20-5 run over the ensuing six minutes to take the lead.

The Duhawks trailed for the next seven minutes before a layup from Haynes put Loras back on top, 67-66, with 6:40 to play. Back-to-back baskets from the Warriors put Wisconsin Lutheran back in front, but a key technical foul on Wisconsin Lutheran's AJ Voss with 2:11 remaining in regulation allowed Loras to begin to take back momentum with two made free throws from Sabet.

Baskets from Jaynes and Myles Barry, coupled with two free throws from Declan Ciurlik allowed the Duhawks to tie things up at 77-all with just over a minute to play. On the next Warrior possession, Jacob Stoltz earned a trip to the charity stipe with 54 seconds to play after a foul by Ciurlik, but managed to only go 1-for-2 from the line to put WLC ahead by one.

Following a Duhawk turnover that resulted in a failed free throw attempt for Wisconsin Lutheran on the following possession, Loras got one last crack at winning the game. Sabet was fouled by Dom Hill with nine seconds remaining and completed his perfect night from the free throw line with two made free throws, giving Loras the late 79-78 lead.

Wisconsin Lutheran's Grayson Goetz missed a jumper on the other end of the floor as time expired to seal the win, giving the Duhawks their ninth-straight win.

As a team, Loras shot 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the field, including 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from beyond the arc, but made it really count at the free throw line by shooting 95 percent (19-of-20). The Purple and Gold held the advantage in rebounding (35-26), points in the paint (44-34), bench points (23-12), and second chance points (17-6).  

Loras now enters conference play for the remainder of the season with Burna Vista University on tap. The Duhawks will head to Storm Lake on Wednesday, Jan. 3 to face the Beavers at 7:30 p.m.