Box Score | Postgame Audio

LAS VEGAS - Christian Thomas scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and Loyola erased an eight-point, second-half deficit to win the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic with a 48-45 win over Boise State in the championship game tonight at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Ramblers improve to 10-2 with their sixth consecutive win while the Broncos drop to 10-3 and see their six-game winning streak come to an end.

"We are so proud of this group of guys," said Associate Head Coach Daniyal Robinson. "It has been a very emotional 24 hours with last night's game and the passing of coach's mom. I thought our guys embraced it and we were really locked in defensively. We always tell them that the shots do not always fall but you can control defense, rebounding and effort and we were terrific in those three areas tonight."

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively, but Loyola inched out to a 6-2 lead after almost six minutes on two Earl Peterson free throws. A Jay Knuth three-pointer and two Montel James baskets later extended the lead to nine (13-4) but Boise State would battle back. Loyola held an 18-10 lead at the 8:19 mark after a Milton Doyle three-pointer but the Ramblers would make just one field goal the rest of the period as the Broncos closed the half on a 17-4 run to take a 27-22 lead into halftime. Doyle led the way with seven points with James adding six in the half.

A three-pointer from Igor Hadziomerovic to open the second half upped the Broncos lead to eight but Loyola battled back behind Thomas. The St. Louis, Mo. native scored six straight points as the Ramblers got back into the game and he capped a 9-0 run with a lay-up off a terrific pass from Doyle to give LU a 35-33 lead. Thomas scored again inside later to make it a 41-38 lead but Boise State would battle back and took a 45-43 lead at the 4:10 mark. Thomas split a pair from the stripe to make it a one-point game before Doyle converted at the rim to put the Ramblers back on top, 46-45, with 2:37 to go and Donte Ingram scored inside a minute later to bump the lead to three (48-45). Those proved to be the final points of the game, as Boise State could not convert on its final possessions and Nick Duncan missed a contested three-pointer at the buzzer to tie.

Loyola finished the night shooting 42% from the floor and its defense held Boise State to 30% shooting overall and 6-of-30 (20%) from downtown. In addition, Boise's 45 points were 30.5 points below its Mountain West-leading average of 75.5 ppg.

Thomas finished with a game-high 17 points to lead the way and he was joined in double figures by James (10 points, five rebounds). Doyle, who was named the tournament MVP finished with nine points. He was joined on the all-tournament team by Thomas and Jay Knuth, who scored 15 points last night against Texas Tech.

Loyola returns home for the Christmas holiday and opens Missouri Valley Conference play on Dec. 31 against Bradley. Tip-off from Gentile Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m.