DUBUQUE, Iowa – A lob pass from Myles Barry to Jack Haynes with less than three seconds remaining resulted in a game-winning basket for the Duhawks in a 68-67 victory over Central College on Saturday night inside the Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center.

The basket gave the Purple and Gold its first lead since the 7:00 mark in the first half as Loras ended the game on a 9-3 run.

Down 54-42 with 7:32 to play and with not much going their way, Loras turned to senior guard Ali Sabet, who scored the next nine-straight Duhawk points to get the Purple and Gold within seven (58-51). Junior forward Tyle Bass connected on back-to-back free throws got Loras within five (58-53) with 5:19 to play, but Central seemed to have an answer for every Duhawk basket.

Two made free throws by Joshua Van Gorp gave the Dutch a 65-59 lead with 2:33 to play, but Central would only score two points the rest of the way.

The Duahwks closed within 65-64 after Bass caused a Dutch turnover, leading to a fast break layup by Gavin Sarvis with 1:23 to go, but Kole Tupa responded with two made three throws to push the lead back to three for Central.  

Declan Ciurlik immediately responded with a layup to cut the deficit to one and swing the momentum completely in the Duhawks' favor. Tupa missed a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to give the ball back to Loras with 18 seconds remaining.

After a Duhawk timeout with seven ticks to go, Ciurlik drove to the basket for a layup but was blocked by Nolan Brand - with the ball falling out of bounds as Loras retained possession. Barry lobbed his inbound pass to Haynes, who high pointed the ball and shot over the extended arms of two Dutch defenders to put the Duhawks on top.

Back-to-back inbound attempts by Central were disrupted by Bass, who's last tip helped expire time and seal the victory – the program's 11^th straight.

Sabet finished with 17 points to lead Loras, going 6-for-11 from the field with four rebounds and three assists.  Ciurlik was 3-for-4 from beyond the arc en route to 13 points, all while tying a career-high with four steals.

Haynes closed out the game with 13 points to round out double-digit scorers for the Duhawks. The 6-7 sophomore forward out of Streator, Ill. knocked down three three-pointers, setting a new career-high.

As a team the Duhawks (13-1 overall, 4-1 American Rivers Conference) shot just 39.7 percent from the field (25-63) compared to 45.8 percent from Central (9-5, 3-2).

Up next, Loras welcomes in Luther College on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tip from Lillis Court is set for 7:30 p.m.