GAME INFORMATION
Final Score: Loyola 68, Drake 63
Records: Loyola (9-11, 2-6 MVC); Drake (5-15, 0-8)
Location: Gentile Arena -- Chicago, Ill.
Attendance: 2,925
Stats: Box Score | Season Stats

Watch: Postgame Press Conference

In Short...
Loyola scored nine of the final 12 points of the game to knock off Drake, 68-63, this afternoon at Gentile Arena.

The Ramblers came out firing and back-to-back baskets from Jeff White gave Loyola its largest lead of the half (eight, 16-8) before Drake slowly began to cut into the deficit. The Bulldogs took a one-point lead with just over three minutes left before Loyola rallied to carry a three-point lead into the locker room at halftime.

James came to life in the second half, scoring 15 of his game-high 17 points after halftime, including five straight to give LU the lead and Milton Doyle closed it out by going 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 25 seconds.

The Ramblers shot 49% from the floor and held their visitors to a 40% clip for the game to compensate for Drake's 34-29 edge on the backboards.

How It Happened
+ Five different players scored for Loyola as it jumped out to a 16-8 lead after eight minutes of action
+ Drake answered with a 12-4 run midway through the period to grab a brief, 23-22 lead at the 3:13 mark
+ Doyle responded with a three-point play to give the Ramblers the lead back and LU led by six before a Reed Timmer basket and a Nick McGlynn free throw cut the lead to three, 29-26, at halftime
+ A three-pointer from Tyson Smith and two hoops from James gave Loyola a five-point lead early in the second half but a 12-3 Drake spurt gave the visitors their largest lead of the day, 47-43, with 9:02 to go
+ Three straight three-pointers, two from Donte Ingram and one from James, helped Loyola take a 59-54 lead before Drake answered with back-to-back treys to retake the lead, 60-59
+ James split a pair from the free throw line to tie it scored on a beautiful reverse lay-up to give Loyola the lead back and the Ramblers would hit all six of their free throw attempts over the last 50 seconds to stymie any hopes of a Drake comeback

The Turning Point
Ingram and James combining to go 4-for-4 from downtown - three from Ingram - as Loyola turned a two-point deficit into a five-point lead and the Ramblers would find a way down the stretch to earn the victory.

Inside The Box Score
+ After going 1-for-2 for two points in the first half, James was more active in the second half, going 4-of-6 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the line to finish with a game-best 17 points
+ Doyle reached double figures for the third consecutive game, finishing with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 29 minutes
+ Ingram's three triples were a career high and accounted for all nine of his points
+ Loyola had three other players (Earl Peterson, Tyson Smith and Ben Richardson) finish with seven points in its balanced attack, with Peterson also tying his career high with six rebounds
+ Despite playing with a smaller lineup, Loyola outscored Drake, 28-22, in the paint
+ Loyola improves to 8-2 this season when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent
+ The Ramblers also move to 3-3 this season in games decided by five points or less and break a three-game losing streak in such games

Next Up
The Ramblers head back on the road to face Wichita State on Wednesday night (Jan. 27). Tip-time is set for 8 p.m. over CBS Sports Network.