DUBUQUE, Iowa (Feb. 15, 2023) – Loras College men's basketball came close to fully overcoming a 12-point second-half deficit to the University of Dubuque, but the late charge wasn't enough as the 66-61 win for the Spartans sent the Duhawks to their fourth straight loss.

The Duhawks (14-10, 8-7 A-R-C) never led on Wednesday night as the Spartans (18-6, 11-4 A-R-C) got their raucous home crowd into the action early and evened the score after Loras claimed the first regular-season matchup 86-74 back on Jan. 11.

Less than seven minutes into the game, the Spartans led by 11 and had all the rhythm and momentum on offense. A three-pointer from senior forward Zach Deering seemed to help the Duhawks settle in, and a short 9-2 run just past the halfway point of the first half allowed them to keep pace before heading into halftime trailing 34-29.

In the second half, Loras' offense ran almost exclusively through junior guard Ali Sabet, who single-handedly kept the Duhawks in the game for a while. Sabet finished with a game-high 24 points, 18 of which came in the second half after he started the period by scoring eight of the team's first 11 points.

Despite his best efforts on an 8-for-15 shooting performance, Sabet and the Duhawks couldn't manage enough stops to bring the margin much closer than seven points. Approaching five minutes to play, the Duhawks trailed by 11 but got a layup from sophomore forward Alex Singleton to go down and bring the margin back to single digits.

That basket came immediately after a layup for Dubuque's Sam Kilburg with 5:30 to play in the game. Kilburg's shot wound up being the final made field goal for the Spartans on the evening.

Singleton's basket started an 11-1 run for the Duhawks as they brought the lead all the way down to just a single point as Sabet's lay-in with one minute to play had tensions at an all-time high inside the Stotlz Sports Center.

After a missed free throw at the other end for Dubuque, a turnover for the Duhawks prevented them from taking a potential game-tying or go-ahead shot. From there, made free throws continued to put the game out of reach as the Spartans survived a gutsy comeback attempt.
Missed opportunities made the difference for Loras as the team finished just 11-for-21 from the free throw line, marking a new season-low percentage from the line at 52.4 percent.

Sophomore guard Tyler Bass joined Sabet in double figures with 10 points and led the Duhawks with seven rebounds. The Duhawks got 11 points from their bench, none of which came from sophomore Jared Pearson after early foul trouble impacted his minutes and his ability to get into the flow of the game.

The Duhawks will host Wartburg College on Saturday, Feb. 18 in the regular season finale at 4 P.M. Hosting rights for the A-R-C Tournament quarterfinal round will be on the line as the winner will likely host the other to start the tournament next Tuesday, Feb. 21.