DUBUQUE — Staving off a late rally, the Central College men's basketball team knocked off Loras College for a third time,  84-79 in the first round of the Iowa Conference basketball tournament Tuesday.

Central advances to meet regular-season champion Dubuque Thursday at 7 p.m. It will be the fourth trip to Dubuque in an eight-day span for the Dutch. The teams split their two regular-season games, with the Spartans prevailing at Dubuque Saturday, 67-57.

In control for nearly the entire game, the Dutch (17-9) held an 11-point lead with 4:17 remaining. The Duhawks (13-13) went on a 14-4 run over the next 2:51 to close the gap to 78-77 with 1:26 left.

"You've got to give Loras credit," coach Craig Douma said. "We weren't getting stops and they were getting to the foul line and scoring."

Following a timeout, the Dutch defense stiffened and junior forward Colby Taylor (Creston) took over offensively late in the game, scoring four of his 21 points in the final 1:14.

"We had to come up with something," Douma said. "After the timeout, we came out and scored twice and got two stops. Colby had some dagger post moves that helped seal the deal."

Pete Walker (junior, Red Oak) was the team's offensive catalyst throughout the night, finishing with a career-high 30 points. Walker was 11-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

"Pete played an unbelievable ballgame," Douma said. "He got to the rim and made plays. He also shot well tonight, it was a really complete game for Pete."

Central outrebounded Loras 37-33, thanks in part to a team-high 10 rebounds by forward Ryan Kunkel (junior, Solon). Taylor also contributed nine boards.

The Dutch will need a big effort to compete with top-seeded Dubuque Thursday.

"We didn't rebound the ball as well we needed last time," Douma said. "We've got to come out with more energy when it comes to rebounding. We've got to take care of the basketball. We didn't do that last time and when you give up offensive possessions, you're losing opportunities to score."