Box Score | Postgame Comments | Highlights

CHICAGO - Loyola built a 15-point, second-half lead and held off a late barrage from Western Illinois in a 72-67 win tonight at Gentile Arena. Montel James scored a season-high 21 points and Devon Turk added 17, surpassing the 1,000-point milestone in the process, to lead the Ramblers, who wrap up their non-conference schedule with a 7-5 record. The Leathernecks drop to 7-4 with the loss.

Western Illinois started hot, opening a 10-6 lead, before Loyola settled in. A three-pointer from Tyson Smith capped an 8-0 run that gave the Ramblers a 14-10 lead but the visitors battled back to draw even at 18 on a De'Angelo Bruster triple. Donte Ingram answered from long distance and Turk had seven points in a quick, 13-0 run that gave Loyola a commanding 31-18 lead with five minutes left in the half. The teams traded hoops the rest of the period with two Jeff White free throws sending the Ramblers into the locker room with a 38-25 advantage. After holding its two opponents last week to 35% shooting, the Loyola defense was the story again, holding WIU to 31% shooting and forcing eight turnovers, while the Ramblers' bench went 7-of-8 from the floor and accounted for 21 points in the half.

Two free throws from Montel James opened the second half and gave Loyola its biggest lead (40-25) before the visitors tried to rally. Five straight WIU points brought the lead under double figures (44-36) but baskets from Milton Doyle and Turk quickly bumped the lead back to 12 with just under 14 minutes left. It was a 14-point spread later after a Tyson Smith triple and the lead was still at 14 (59-45) after a James free throw at the 8:02 mark before the Leathernecks got hot.

Garret Covington drilled three treys to get Western within five, 63-58, with 3:16 to go but James scored to help Loyola stem the tide. Four points from Jabari Sandifer trimmed the lead to three but James drove baseline and scored on a beautiful reverse to make it a two-possession game again with 1:17 left. A defensive stop led to two Earl Peterson free throws to make it a seven-point game and it was a 70-62 lead with 26 seconds left before Covington buried another trifecta with 18 ticks remaining.

Tate Stensgaard scored after a Loyola turnover to make it a 70-67 game but James calmly swished a pair of charity tosses with 10 seconds left to account for the final margin.

James was outstanding, finishing 7-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-9 from the line en route to his season-high 21 points while adding a team-high eight rebounds. Turk hit 6-of-10 from the floor for his 17 points and became the 41st player in Loyola history to eclipse 1,000 career points. Ingram had another terrific game, contributing 12 points, five rebounds and four assists in 32 turnover-free minutes to give LU a third double-digit scorer.

After wrapping up a busy, three-games-in-six-days stretch, Loyola gets a nine-day break before opening Missouri Valley play on Dec. 30 against Southern Illinois. Tip-time from Gentile Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.