Feb. 4, 2023 – Loras College men's basketball couldn't overcome a second-half dry spell on Saturday afternoon as the Duhawks fell 66-56 to Central College in another physical game between two of the top teams in the American Rivers Conference (A-R-C).

The Duhawks (14-7, 8-4 A-R-C) and Dutch (14-6, 9-3 A-R-C) entered Saturday's game tied atop the A-R-C standings, but it was the Dutch who emerged with another win to secure the season sweep of Loras and maintain control of their own destiny in the latter stages of the regular season.

Loras led by six at the halftime break and got hot to start the second half, pushing the lead up to 10 points with 16 minutes to play. The Duhawks tallied 12 points out of the gates in the second half as a steal and a transition layup from sophomore guard Jared Pearson prompted a Central timeout.

With all the momentum on their side, the Duhawks looked like they had a chance to blow the game open, but the timeout served as the turning point as the tides changed from there. After the hot start, the Duhawks scored just eight points over the final 15 minutes as Central slowly worked its way back.

The Dutch took their first lead of the half on a three-pointer by Kaleb Brand with eight minutes to play, making it 53-52 in favor of Central. Loras was doing its best to stand tall on defense, but the lack of offense proved to be too big to overcome. Aside from a running lay-in from junior guard Ali Sabet in the final minute, the Duhawks were scoreless for nearly seven minutes to close out the game.

Much like the game played between these two teams in Pella, Iowa on Jan. 7, this one was as physically demanding as any game the Duhawks will play this season. The Duhawks give up a lot of size to Central's two bigs as both Joshua Van Gorp and Grant Johnson stand 6-foot-10 and create matchup nightmares for everyone they face.

Senior Zach Deering and sophomores Alex Singleton and Tyler Bass did their best defensively, but it wasn't enough to stop Central's big men as Johnson led all scorers with 26 while Van Gorp added 13.

Bass led Loras with another double-double that totaled 17 points and 10 rebounds. Sabet joined him in double figures with 15 thanks to three three-pointers. As a team, the Duhawks shot just 28.4 percent (23-for-81) from the field and 18.2 percent (6-for-33) from three-point range, including a 1-for-16 shooting clip from deep in the second half.

Both of those shooting percentages mark season lows for the Duhawks. Additionally, Loras shot just five free throws in the game – another season low – after Central was whistled for just 12 personal fouls to Loras' 21.

Saturday's action drops the Duhawks into a tie for third place in the A-R-C standings with the University of Dubuque with Central and Nebraska Wesleyan University occupying spots one and two.

Loras stays home for a midweek game next Wednesday, Feb. 8, when it hosts Luther College at 7:30 P.M.