Nov. 19, 2007

DUBUQUE, Iowa - Clarke College Head Men's Basketball Coach Jon Davison hit a milestone Friday night and his Crusaders hit nearly everything they threw up. Clarke handed Davison his 500th collegiate coaching victory with an 84-71 victory over No. 8 (NCAA Division III) Loras College in the first game played in the new Duhawks' Athletic Wellness Center.

Clarke (1-3) shot a blistering 72.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play, including an 8-of-10 showing from beyond the three-point arc, and led 41-27 at the break. The Crusaders shot 92 percent in the first 11 minutes of play. For the contest, Clarke finished with school records in field goal percentage (65.9, 29-44) and three-point field goal percentage (73.3, 11-15).

Senior guard DeMonte Bynum led Clarke with a game-high 26 points. He hit 8-of-12 shots from the field and was five-of-eight from three-point range. Bynum aslo added nine assists and four rebounds. The Crusaders had double-figure scoring performances from Demarvis Russel (19) Brian Harris (12) and Michael Okpalaeze (11). Okpalaeze had a team-high five rebounds and three blocked shots.

Clarke led by as many as 15 points in the final 20 minutes. Loras climbed back within nine points with 10:25 to play in the contest, but the Duhawks would get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Brian Centella led Loras (0-1) with 20 points. Ricky Kolze and Luke Slater added 16 and 15 points, respectively. Jake Oeth claimed game rebounding honors with nine.

Clarke will return to action on Nov. 24 when the Crusaders host Marian College at the Robert and Ruth Kehl Center.