Men's Basketball Falls in Final Seconds at Loras
Jan 18, 2020
DUBUQUE, Iowa - The University of Dubuque men's basketball team led late but could not hang on and dropped a conference match-up to Loras, 88-87.
UD scored the first four points of the game in the first 75 seconds for the quick 4-0 lead but that was the last UD field goal for the next 5:30 as Loras would go on an 18-2 run over that period. A Peter Ragen three pointer and layup on back-to-back possessions, followed by a Carter Stevens three, quickly got the Spartans right back with four points at 18-14 with just over 12 minutes to play in the half.
Despite the UD offense kicking into gear after the cold streak to open the game, the UD defense could not find a way to slow down the Duhawk offense as Loras would put up 48 first half points and the Spartans would trail 48-40 at halftime.
After Loras made a layup to open the second half scoring, UD would score eight of the next nine points, with six coming off of two Peter Ragen three pointers, to get within one possession.The Spartans stayed close and were finally able to string enough stops together to take their first lead since it was 4-2, going up 60-59 after a Henry Thomspon three with 13:52 to play.
From that point on, it was a seesaw affair that everyone has been accustomed to seeing in the UD-Loras rivalry. With under a minute to player and the game all square at 84-84, the Spartans fed Luke Davis in the post, where he converted on the hoop and harm for the three point play with 55 seconds remaining. Two Loras free throws cut the UD lead to one with 40 seconds remaining and after an empty possesion from the Spartans, the Duhawks called a timeout. Out of the timeout, Loras converted on a wide-open layup attempt to take an 88-87 lead with four seconds left. Mitch Burger raced the length of the court and attempted a 15 footer as time expired but the shot rolled off the rim and the Spartans fell 88-87.
In the final 13:52 there were eight lead changes and four ties over that timespan.
Peter Ragen carried the UD offense, scoring a game-high 29 points on just 7-14 from the field but knocked down 12-13 from the charity stripe. Ragen would also haul in a team-high seven rebounds to go with his 29 points. Henry Thompson dropped in four three pointers on his way to 14 points, while Carter Stevens and Luke Davis added 11 and 10 points off the bench, respectively.
The Spartans held the Duhawks to a lowly 31.7% shooting from the field while UD shot 44.4%, however Loras shot 38 free throws, making 33 of them, while UD shot 27 and connected on 22.
The Spartans will stay on the road and travel to Decorah to take on Luther College on Wednesday, Jan. 22nd at 7:30 p.m.
