DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College men's basketball team dropped its final nonconference contest of the season to North Central University, 87-84, on Sunday afternoon.
The Duhawks opened the contest on a 10-2 run but were never able to extend their lead to more than eight for the remainder of the half. The Rams used a 12-4 run to knot the score up at 29-29 with 7:40 left to play in the opening half and took their first lead of the contest (36-35) following a basket from Carrington McNeal. Both squads traded buckets over the final five minutes of the half, but Loras (8-3, 2-0 A-R-C) went into the locker room with a one-point advantage (42-41).
North Central (6-5, 0-0 UMAC) led for a majority of the second half, leading by as many as eight (54-46) with just over 15 minutes left to play. The Duhawks went on a 10-2 run to tie things up at 56-56, but the Rams responded with a three-pointer from McNeal to regain the lead. Loras evened the score four more times and even took a brief one-point lead following a three from
Nolan Berendes, but a layup and pair of free throws in the final minute put the game just out of reach for the Duhawks.
Carmello McNeal led the way for North Central with 21 points. Malik Siggers and McNeal also finished in double figures for the Rams with 20 and 18 points respectively. As a team, the visitors shot 51.7 percent (30-of-58) from the floor and 50.0 percent from behind the arc (9-of-18).
Leading the way for the Duhawks was
Gavin Sarvis who finished with 23 points, four assists and three steals.
Tyler Bass added in 17 points and pulled down five rebounds, while
Jared Pearson totaled 16 points on the night.
Alex Singleton and Berendes rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Purple and Gold with 11 and 10 points respectively. Loras shot 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the field and 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the foul line.
Up Next: The Purple and Gold return to American Rivers Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 4 when they welcome the Nebraska Wesleyan University Prairie Wolves to Lillis Court. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
