DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College men's basketball team fell to North Central College, 82-78, in a midweek nonconference showdown on Thursday night inside the Lillis Athletic and Wellness Center.

The Duhawks and Cardinals played a tight game the full 40 minutes resulting in 13 lead changes and 12 ties with neither squad holding a lead larger than six points.

Loras (5-2, 2-0 A-R-C) trailed 77-73 with 1:49 left to play, but a putback layup from Jack Haynes and a three-pointer from Gavin Sarvis put the Purple and Gold back in front (78-77) with only 45 seconds left in the contest. Alejandro Diaz's free throw knotted things up at 78-78, but the Cardinals came up big with a steal that led to a layup and then knocked down key free throws to put the game just out of reach for the Duhawks.

The Cardinals offense was led by Diaz who finished with 18 points, while teammate Ethan Helwig followed closely behind with 17 points. Terrance Moncrief and Drew Gaston rounded out the North Central (7-2, 1-1 CCIW) double-digit scorers with 15 and 14 points respectively. As a team, the visitors shot 53.4 percent (31-of-58) from the field and took advantage of the 20 Duhawk turnovers, converting them into 30 points.

Haynes led the Duhawk offense with 22 points and nine rebounds. Tyler Bass added in 17 points, while Sarvis and Jared Pearson put up 11 points apiece. Myan Whitfield closed out the double-digit performers with a career-high 10 points on the night. Despite outscoring the Cardinals in the paint (46-34), winning the rebounding battle (33-19) and shooting 60.0 percent (30-of-50) from the floor, Loras came up just four points short to tally its second loss of the season.

Up Next: The Duhawks continue their homestand with a nonconference contest against Blackburn College on Monday, Dec. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Lillis Court.