Feb. 18, 2023 – In desperate need of a win, the Loras College men's basketball team picked up an important one on Saturday afternoon as the Duhawks beat Wartburg College 84-77 to end a four-game slide and secure a home game in the upcoming American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Tournament.

The Duhawks (15-10, 9-7 A-R-C) and Knights (11-14, 8-8 A-R-C) already knew that they would be matching up again this coming Tuesday in the quarterfinal round, but still had to settle which team would get to host the other. Saturday's win locks Loras in as the No. 4 seed, meaning the Duhawks will host the fifth-seeded Knights on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Both teams knew exactly what was on the line at the start of this one as all the shots seemed to fall in the opening few minutes. Four three-pointers had fallen before the 16-minute mark of the game, which set the tone for an exciting back-and-forth battle.

With the Duhawks trailing 17-12 during the midway point, junior guard Declan Ciurlik took over the game and scored five straight buckets for the Duhawks. During that streak, Ciurlik connected on three straight three-pointers in as many trips down the floor for the Duhawks, giving him 13 straight points for his team and catapulting them into the lead at 25-24.

Even after that run, the Knights wouldn't go away and the teams traded baskets all the way to the end of the first half. In their final trip down the floor, the Duhawks corralled two offensive rebounds before sophomore guard Tyler Bass finally finished on a jumper in the lane, giving the Duhawks a 42-36 lead heading into halftime.

Loras never trailed in the second half, but ithad almost no breathing room for most of it as Wartburg continued to answer after each Duahwk make. With just under 13 minutes to play, a blown defensive assignment for Wartburg left sophomore guard Jared Pearson all alone in front of the Duhawk bench. Pearson's three-pointer gave the Duhawks an eight-point lead, their largest of the game to that point.

Just a couple of minutes later, a three-pointer by freshman Gavin Sarvis extended the lead to 10 and fully captured the attention of the Duhawk crowd. That trend continued as the Duhawks slowly but surely began extending the lead before it reached its peak, a 15-point advantage with less than six minutes to play.

A dry spell for Loras allowed Wartburg to use an 8-0 run to close the gap as the two-minute mark approached, but it wasn't enough as a set play for junior Myles Barry led to a three-pointer with just over a minute to play, which gave the Duhawks an 11-point lead and served as the final dagger in a much-needed win.

Free throws hurt the Duhawks on Wednesday at the University of Dubuque, but they corrected those woes and finished 20-for-23 at the line on Saturday. Loras also buried 12 three-pointers to tie a season-high.

Ciurlik led the Duhawks with 21 points and finished with four three-pointers to cap one of his best games of the season. Barry (18) and Bass (14) both finished in double figures as well.

The Duhawks will host the Knights on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in the quarterfinal round of the A-R-C Tournament. Start time is scheduled for 7 P.M. at the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.