ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Despite outscoring No. 21-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, 45-35, in the second half, the Loras College men's basketball team fell 85-76 in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Friday evening inside the Field House on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

The Duhawks struck first with a midrange jump shot from Johnny Semany, but the Loras (20-8) lead was short-lived as UW-Whitewater (21-7) responded with a 15-0 run over six minutes of play to take control of the first half. The Warhawks led by as many as 23 with 57 seconds left to play in the opening half, but a pair of Dylan Kurt free throws and a layup from Daymen Jackson cut the deficit to 19 (50-19) at the break.

The Purple and Gold were able to get within 11 multiple times over the course of the second half, but the Warhawks always seemed to have an answer. A last second three-pointer from Kurt brought the Duhawks to within single digits (85-76).

Senior Gavin Sarvis scored a team-high 17 points, while Nolan Berendes followed closely behind with 15 of his own. Kurt rounded out the double-digit scorers for the Duhawks with 12 points. As a team, Loras shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the floor and 80 percent (20-of-25) from the foul line.