Feb. 4, 2006
Box Score
CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago (13-8, 5-6 Horizon) used a 5-0 run midway through to the second half to take control and held on for an 81-75 victory over Cleveland State (8-13, 4-7 Horizon) this afternoon at the Gentile Center. With the win, the Ramblers matched their win total from a year ago, and earned their 10th victory at the Gentile Center this season.
"This was a really good win for us," Loyola head coach Jim Whitesell said. "Cleveland State has played really well on the road this year. We have to max out and play really well every game from her on out."
Cleveland State was hot from the perimeter in the early minutes, while Loyola hit just 1 of 7 shots from the field, as CSU staked claim to an 11-2 lead. The Vikings maintained that nine-point advantage for the first 10 minutes of the contest before Leon Young's lay-up kicked off a 14-5 run that brought the Ramblers even at 28. Blake Schilb's three-pointer with 5:06 left broke a 30-30 tie and Loyola took a slim 38-37 lead into halftime.
Loyola led by as many as five points (49-44) early in the second period before Carlos English buried a long trey at the 9:55 mark to bring the Vikings even at 54. Schilb's lay-up 52 seconds later gave Loyola the lead for good although CSU mounted one last charge.
Patrick Tatham's basket with 6:51 left closed Loyola's lead to 59-58, but Tracy Robinson's three-pointer from the left wing seconds later built the lead up to four, at 62-58. Cleveland State never got closer than three points the rest of the way and Loyola drained all six of its tries from the foul line in the final two minutes to seal the victory.
Schilb tallied 27 points and dished out six assists to lead Loyola, while Young added 20 points, his best effort since a 21-point showing versus Bradley on Nov. 30, to go with eight rebounds. Majak Kou chipped in 17 points and five rebounds, while Brandon Woods contributed nine points in his first career start.
Ije Nwankwo tallied a team-high 20 points for the Vikings.
Loyola now closes out the season by playing four of its final six games of the season on the road. The Ramblers head to UW-Green Bay, Feb. 8.
