GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Brayden Teuscher scored 19 points in Wheaton's 74-73 loss at Loras on Tuesday night.

Dubuque, Iowa- The fifth-ranked Wheaton men's basketball team dropped its first game of the season on Tuesday night with a 74-73 loss at Loras College. Wheaton once again battled back from a four-point deficit in the game's final two minutes to take a 73-72 lead. Loras was able to re-take the lead on a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining and Wheaton's shot at the buzzer did not fall, giving the Duhawks their first victory of the young season.

Trailing 68-66, the Duhawks ran off six straight points to take a 72-68 lead with 2:42 remaining the game. A three-pointer by Michael Kvam and a jumper by Brayden Teuscher erased the Loras lead and put Wheaton up 73-72 with 1:36 left. Wheaton stopped the Duhawks on the ensuing possession with a block by Nate Haynes. Trying to ice the game away, Tyler Peters ran the shot clock down and converted on a running jumper in the lane. However, Peters was called for a charging foul and the points were erased with 35 seconds left.

Loras also ran the shot clock down on its next opportunity and the Duhawks' Nathaniel Smith drew a foul with eight seconds remaining. Smith hit both free throws, giving the Duhawks a 74-73 lead. Peters (PICTURED RIGHT) took the inbound pass and drove the length of the floor but couldn't get the shot at the buzzer to fall and the Thunder dropped to 2-1.

Wheaton shot 48.9% (22-45) from the field and 43.8% (7-16) from beyond the arc. The Thunder shot 22-of-29 (75.9%) from the free throw line. Loras was 44% (22-50) from the field and 50% (7-14) from the three-point line. The Duhawks shot 23-27 (85.2%) from the free throw line.

Early on, the game was a back-and-forth affair with neither team leading by more than three points until a Kvam three-pointer gave Wheaton a five-point lead with 8:39 left in the first half. The Thunder built the lead up to as many as seven points twice in the first half, but Loras closed the half on an 11-4 run in the final three minutes of the first half to tie the score at halftime.

Trailing by five in the second half, Loras put together a 16-3 run to take the game's biggest lead at 59-51 with 11:03 remaining. Wheaton responded with an 11-2 run of its own to retake the lead at 63-61 with just under seven minutes remaining. Setting up the back-and-forth ending. The game featured 16 ties and 11 lead changes.

Tyler Peters led the Thunder with 26 points and nine rebounds. Nate Haynes grabbed 12 rebounds and scored eight points. Brayden Teuscher scored 19 points. Peter Smith was perfect from the field in scoring nine points.

Wheaton will travel to Wooster, Ohio on Friday at 6 PM (EST) to face Spalding University in the Al Van Rie/Rotary Tournament hosted by the College of Wooster.