Boxscore (PDF)

PEORIA, Ill. (January 31, 2018)
 
In Short
Loyola University Chicago (18-5, 8-3 MVC) erased an 11-point deficit in five minutes to tie the game at 64, but Darrell Brown hit a pair of free throws with 46 seconds left to lift Bradley (17-7, 7-4 MVC) to a 69-67 victory tonight at Carver Arena. The loss snaps the Ramblers' seven-game winning streak.
 
Porter Moser's Thoughts
"Bradley played hard, super physical, and shared the ball really well tonight. I was proud of how we turned it in the second half and had a chance to win when we didn't play our best and that's a good sign. You're going to have games like this in the league and the key is how you bounce back."
 
How It Happened
Bradley used a 15-4 run, which featured a pair of three-pointer from Nate Kennell, early in the first half to break a tie and seize a 22-11 lead. Loyola struggled early on, committing seven turnovers in the first 12 minutes before finally getting into a flow at the offensive end of the floor.
 
Seven unanswered Rambler points, capped by a Clayton Custer three-pointer, brought Loyola within 31-25, but Bradley answered back, scoring six of the game's next eight points to reclaim a double-digit lead. Bruno Skokna provided some momentum going into the half when he tipped in a missed shot just before the first-half buzzer to close the gap to 37-29 at the break.
 
Bradley shot 52 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while the Ramblers coughed up the ball nine times. Custer scored 15 of his career-high 23 points in the first half alone.
 
Two quick baskets by Cameron Krutwig opened the second-half scoring for Loyola and sliced the Bradley lead to four points (37-33), prompting a Braves timeout. After the timeout however, Bradley recorded five straight points to bump its lead to 42-33.
 
A basket from Donte Thomas would give Bradley its largest lead of the half, at 60-49, before Loyola showed the heart of a champion and battled back, wiping away the double-digit deficit in five minutes thanks to a 15-4 run that was capped by a three from Marques Townes with 1:05 left to play.
 
Darrell Brown hit a pair of free throws to give Bradley the lead for good and added two more 22 seconds later to extend the Braves' lead to four, but another three from Townes cut the deficit to a single point (68-67). Kennell hit the front end of a two-shot foul but missed the second, giving Loyola a chance to tie or win the game, but the Ramblers were unable to get a shot off before the final horn sounded.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Custer scored a career-high 23 points to lead Loyola, marking the second straight game he has topped the 20-point plateau.
• Krutwig scored in double figures for the sixth consecutive game, finishing with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Townes and Ben Richardson added 11 points apiece.
• Elijah Childs scored 18 points and added seven rebounds to pace Bradley, which shot 48 percent from the field, and won its 14^th straight home game.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers return home to host preseason MVC favorite Missouri State on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.