DECORAH, Iowa –
Ali Sabet dropped 16 points while
Jackson Molstead added in 14 as the Loras College Duhawks beat Luther College 86-54 on Wednesday night to complete the season sweep over the Norse.
With the win, the Duhawks (20-4 overall, 11-4 American Rivers Conference) hit the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Sabet went 6-of-13 (46.2 percent) from the floor, while Molstead was 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) shooting. Molstead, the fifth-year guard out of Charles City, Iowa, connected on a game-high four three pointers while dishing out four assists in 25 minutes of action.
Jared Pearson and
Gavin Sarvis each scored 11 points to round out Duhawks in double-digits. Pearson went 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from the floor, including 3-of-5 (60 percent) from deep, while Sarvis finished 4-of-5 (80 percent) from the field in 11 minutes of play.
Aidan Baliley scored 17 points to lead Luther (7-17, 2-13), which has now lost four of its last five games. Andrew Lazinbat was the next closest Norse in the score book, as the senior guard scored eight in Luther's home finale.
The Duhawks got on the board first with an and-one layup by
Tyler Bass on the team's second possession of the game before opening things up with a 7-2 run over the next two minutes to lead it 9-2.
The Purple and Gold kept the foot on the gas both offensively and defensively over the first half, not allowing the Norse to reach double-digits until there was 9:57 to play in the opening frame. By that point, the Duhawks had a 15-point advantage (25-10) and never looked back as Luther failed to bring it within 14 points at any point during the remainder of the game.
The Norse held a slight advantage in the rebound battle (40-39), but Loras countered with leads in assists (21-6), bench points (44-25), and points off turnovers (16-7). As a team, the Duhawks shot 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the floor, including 12-of-33 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Luther shot just 31.7 percent (19-of-60) from the field and a dismal 4-of-20 (20 percent) from three-point range.
Up next for the Duhawks is the regular season finale against the University of Dubuque on Saturday, Feb. 17. Loras will be celebrating its senior class in their finale from the comforts of the Lillis Athletic & Wellness Center. Tip is set for 4 p.m.