WAVERLY, Iowa--The No. 15 Wartburg men's basketball team (7-1 overall, 2-0 IIAC) defeated Loras (5-2, 2-1) in the Knights' conference home opener, 98-87 Wednesday. 

In the first half, the score was deadlocked 14-12 Wartburg for nearly four minutes, before the Knights went on an 8-2 run. 

Loras answered with three-straight three pointers to tighten Wartburg's lead at 24-23 with 6:41 left in the first half. 

The Orange and Black would take a narrow 38-34 lead into halftime. 

During the second half, the Knights led by as many as 13 points. Junior Jaran Sabus (Urbandale) netted 19 points in the second half, going five-for-six in the paint and a perfect nine-for-nine from behind the free throw line. 

On offense for the Knights, Sabus led the team with 28 points. Also scoring in double digits was junior Cam Kickbush (Reinbeck), senior Nate Woeste (Atkins) and sophomore Ryan Stulken (Walford) each with 13 and junior Josh Gehling (Dyersville) and senior Clifton Brown (Mims, Fla.) scored 10. Stulken's 13 points marked his new career high. 

Kickbush also tallied a team-high five assists. Freshman Max Smith Drahos (Cedar Rapids) had four. 

For the Orange and Black's defensive effort, Kickbush had a team-best seven rebounds. Brown tallied six. Smith Drahos had a team-high two steals. 

The Knights return to action on Sunday, Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. against UW-La Crosse in Levick Arena.