Boxscore (PDF) 

CHICAGO (November 10, 2017) –
 
In Short
Four players scored in double figures, led by Donte Ingram's 21 points as Loyola University Chicago (1-0) held on for an 84-80 victory over former conference mate Wright State (0-1) tonight at Gentile Arena in the season opener for both teams.
 
Coach Moser's Thoughts
"I'm happy to get the win. You have to give Wright State credit, they didn't quit. I thought (Cameron) Krutwig gave us a great effort off the bench and Donte (Ingram) made some big plays down the stretch. We'll get better. Our crowd and our students truly made a difference tonight."
 
How It Happened
Spurred on by a boisterous student turnout, Loyola came out of the starting blocks quickly, as Marques Townes split a pair of foul shots, Aundre Jackson converted a layup, and Ingram buried a three-pointer for an early 6-0 lead.
 
Wright State immediately answered that spurt with back-to-back threes from Mark Hughes and Grant Benzinger, however, and the teams would battle back and forth most of the remainder of the period.
 
The opening 20 minutes featured nine ties, the last coming at 36 apiece, but Loyola grabbed the lead for good thanks to a 9-3 run that was bookended by hoops from Ingram and also included a pair of baskets by freshman Cameron Krutwig, who was impressive in his collegiate debut. That spurt put the Ramblers on top, 45-39, and a late bucket by Justin Mitchell allowed Wright State to slice Loyola's advantage to 45-41 at the half.
 
Both teams shot lights out in the opening period, with Wright State draining 6 of 9 shots (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc, while Loyola connected on a scorching 75 percent (18-for-24) of its field goal tries.
 
Leading 58-53 with 13:53 remaining in the game, the Ramblers got some breathing room when Clayton Custer's three-pointer ignited a 9-2 surge, that again featured a pair of layups from Krutwig, for a 67-55 edge, Loyola's largest of the evening.
 
Loyola led by nine points (81-72) with a little over a minute remaining but the Raiders made things interesting when Mark Hughes connected for a pair of long threes to fuel an 8-1 run that cut the Ramblers' advantage to 82-80 with 26 seconds left to play.
 
Ingram split a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left to extend Loyola's lead to 83-80, and Wright State had a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Bruno Skokna stripped the ball from Alan Vest with 10 ticks remaining as the Ramblers held on for their sixth straight season-opening victory under head coach Porter Moser.
 
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Loyola has won 27 of its last 30 non-conference home games, including each of the last 10.
• With a game-high 21 points, Ingram extended his streak of consecutive games with 10 or more points to six.
• Custer finished with 18 points, four boards and three steals, while Townes pitched in 16 points, five rebounds and four assists in his first appearance as a Rambler.
• Krutwig was phenomenal in his Loyola debut, producing 17 points, seven rebounds and two assists in only 17 minutes.
• Grant Benzinger led Wright State with 16 points.

 
Up Next
Loyola hosts Eureka Sunday afternoon (Nov. 12) at 2 p.m.