DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Wartburg men's basketball squad (5-3 overall, 1-2 A-R-C) fell to No. 21 Loras (5-1, 1-1) 91-90 on Wednesday evening.
The Knights trailed for the game's first four and a half minutes before sophomore guard
Max Smith Drahos (Cedar Rapids) hit a jumper to score two of his 15 first half points to give the Orange and Black a 8-7 lead. Led by a balanced offense that saw seven different players score in the first half, the Duhawks closed out the half by outscoring Wartburg 42-40 to take the 49-48 halftime lead.
Freshman forward
Aidan Weber (Phoenix, Ariz.) scored the first points for Wartburg in the second half, connecting on a three-pointer to tie things up at 51 apiece with 19:14 to go. A quick 7-0 run over the next three minutes gave the Knights a seven-point lead with 16:34 left in regulation. The two teams went back and forth, with the Knights scoring 31 points and exchanging the lead eight times before coming to an 82-81 lead with only 4:32 left to play.
After a pair of Loras free throws, the Knights trailed 83-82 before scoring five points on back-to-back possessions to take a late 87-83 lead with just under three to play. A quick layup by Loras' Cole Navigato and three-pointer by Demond George put the Duhawks back on top 88-87 with 1:59 left in the game. Wartburg responded when senior guard
Cam Kickbush (Reinbeck) connected on a three-pointer to put the Knights up two (90-88) late in the game.
A layup with 39 seconds left from Loras' Ryan DiCanio tied the game back up at 90 apiece. On the ensuing Wartburg possession, Weber picked up his fifth foul of the game and sent Loras back to the line, where it connected on one to take a 91-90 lead with 14 seconds left on the clock. Senior guard
Jaran Sabus (Urbandale) attempted to win the game on a buzzer-beating layup but was blocked on the way up as the Duhawks were able to run out time to defeat the Knights 91-90.
Leading the way in points for the Knights was Smith Drahos, who scored a career-high 19 points in the loss. Sabus pitched in 17 points, which gives him 1,205 career points and moves him into 16
th in program history. Kickbush finished with 14 points, with six of those points coming on two made three-pointers. Those two three-pointers give Kickbush 184 made three-pointers in his career, which brings him into sole possession of fourth place in program history for made three-pointers.
The Knights owned the lead in field goal percentage (48.4% - 47.7%) and free throw percentage (82.1% - 72.7%). The Duhawks led in rebounds (38-32), assists (15-14), blocks (4-0) and steals (9-4).
The Orange and Black will look to snap their two-game losing streak on Sunday, Dec. 9 when they travel to face University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles (3-3) with tip off at 3 p.m.
