Feb. 28, 2006

Box Score

CHICAGO - Thanks to 58 percent shooting from the field, Loyola University Chicago (18-10) earned a 76-61 victory over No. 9 seed Youngstown State (7-21) tonight at the Gentile Center in a first round game at the Horizon League Championship. The fourth-seeded Ramblers advance to the quarterfinal round at U.S. Cellular Arena in Milwaukee on Friday, March 3, where they will face No. 5 Detroit at 7 p.m.

"This was a good win for our guys," Loyola head coach Jim Whitesell said. "We did a good job of being alert and focused. Chris Logan really gave us a nice lift. This was a team win."

Youngstown State took an early 8-5 lead before Logan scored five points in a 10-0 run as Loyola built a 15-8 edge with 9:28 left in the first half. That lead grew to 32-17 at the half as the Ramblers scored the final six points of the period. A balanced offensive attack and a solid defensive effort keyed the strong first half for Loyola. The Ramblers limited the Penguins to 29 percent shooting in the first half and owned a commanding 23-11 edge in rebounding.

Loyola shot a sizzling 75 percent in the second half and used an 11-4 run to take a 50-32 lead, its largest of the night, with 13:16 left in the game. Youngstown never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Blake Schilb scored a game-high 23 points and added six rebounds and four assists to pace Loyola. Logan tallied 18 points, one shy of his career high, and his most since the season opener at IPFW. Leon Young notched 12 points, hitting 10 of 10 shots from the foul line.

Quin Humphrey tallied 22 points to pace Youngstown State.

With the win, Loyola established a Gentile Center record with its 13th victory of the season. The Ramblers also picked up their 18th overall win of the year, their highest total since going 27-6 and advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, in 1984-85.

The winner of the Loyola-Detroit game will face top-seeded UW-Milwaukee on March 4 at 6 p.m., in a game televised by ESPNU.