Boxscore (PDF) 

CHICAGO (February 7, 2018)
 
In Short
Clayton Custer and Cameron Krutwig combined for 22 points in the second half to power Loyola University Chicago (20-5, 10-3 MVC) to a 72-57 victory over Drake (13-13, 7-6 MVC) tonight at Gentile Arena for its 20^th win of the season. The Ramblers have won 20 games before conference tournament play for the first time since 2006-07 and have prevailed in 10 or more league games for the first time since that same season.
 
Porter Moser's Thoughts
"I thought we picked up the tempo and took care of the ball much better in the second half. Drake is a hard team to guard. I was pleased with how we kept at it and in the end, were able to pull away."
 
How It Happened
Nick McGlynn scored five points as part of a game-opening 12-5 run that gave Drake a seven-point lead. Ben Richardson's provided an early scoring punch and his second three of the night ignited a 13-4 run that was punctuated by a Krutwig layup that moved the Ramblers ahead for the first time of the night, at 18-16.
 
Drake surged back ahead, taking a two-point lead (26-24) on a C.J. Rivers basket with 4:55 left in the period, but a conventional three-point play from Marques Townes gave the Ramblers the lead for good, at 27-26, and they closed the period with eight of the final 10 points to take a 32-28 advantage into the half.
 
Krutwig scored four points in the opening 45 seconds, and Donte Ingram followed with a three-pointer, to cap a 7-0 Rambler run to kick things off in the second period as Loyola extended its lead to 39-28. But, the Bulldogs chipped away at the deficit and closed within four, at 48-44, on another basket by Rivers.
 
Custer, who struggled a bit with his shot in the first half, stepped up and delivered a crucial basket on the Ramblers' ensuing possession, however, hitting a baseline jumper as the shot clock was winding down to slow Drake's momentum. That basket touched off a 22-9 run that featured 10 points from Custer (two threes and another jumper), as Loyola built a comfortable 70-53 lead and coasted to its ninth win in the last 10 games.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Krutwig led all Ramblers with 17 points and fell a rebound shy of registering a double-double. The freshman has scored in double digits in each of the last eight games.
• Custer pitched in 14 points and added four boards, four assists and three steals, while Richardson reached double figures for the third consecutive contest, totaling 11 points, four boards and six assists.
• Aundre Jackson rounded out the cast of double-figure scorers for Loyola, tallying 10 points in only 13 minutes, off the bench, and Ingram gathered a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Loyola shot 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the field in the second half, and for the game, handed out 21 assists against only nine turnovers.
• The Ramblers held, Drake, which received 16 points apiece from Reed Timmer and McGlynn, to 34.4 percent (21-for-61) from the field and 26.3 percent (5-for-19) from beyond the arc, to improve to 12-1 at home this season and 25-4 at Gentile Arena since the start of the 2016-17 campaign.

 
Up Next
Loyola visits Indiana State on February 10. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. Central.