Boxscore (PDF)

ST. LOUIS (March 2, 2018)
 
In Short
Top-seeded Loyola University Chicago (26-5) used a 14-2 run to overcome a four-point deficit midway through the second half, then held on for a 54-50 victory over ninth-seeded UNI (16-16) in a quarterfinal round game at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Scottrade Center this afternoon. The win is the Ramblers' eighth in a row and moves them into tomorrow's semifinal round.
 
Porter Moser's Thoughts
"I thought it was a classic Valley game, especially with Northern Iowa. It was gritty. It was tough. It was ugly at times. Just crazy how well they defend you. I was proud of our guys' mentality. There was no panic."
 
How It Happened
Loyola got some good looks but got off to a slow start shooting the ball, knocking down just 1 of its first 10 tries, but trailed just 6-2 and it played great defense itself, holding UNI to 2-of-7 from the field to open the contest. The Panthers held a 14-8 advantage, matching their largest of the period, when the Ramblers roared back and opened up a 12-2 run with a pair of Aundre Jackson free throws, capping it with a Jackson layup, to seize a 20-16 lead.
 
UNI stormed back and a Wyatt Lohaus three, followed by a Hunter Rhodes baseline jumper, put the Panthers back on top, but another Jackson basket, and seconds later, a three from Donte Ingram, sent Loyola into the break with a 25-21 edge.
 
Bennett Koch accounted for nearly half of UNI's points in the first half, tallying 10 of his squad's 21 points. Taking out Koch's effort and Loyola limited the rest of the Panthers to 11 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
 
UNI drew even early in the second half thanks to back-to-back threes from Rhodes and Isaiah Brown, and after Loyola moved back ahead on buckets by Ben Richardson and Cameron Krutwig, the Panthers put together an 8-2 spurt to grab a 37-33 lead.
 
Unfazed, Loyola rattled off seven straight points, the last coming on a long three from the top of the key by Richardson that just beat the shot clock horn, giving the Ramblers the lead for good. Richardson's three was part of a 14-2 run overall.
 
Loyola led by as many as eight points, the final time coming on Ingram's layup with 57 seconds remaining. UNI made things interesting, scoring five straight points to trim the Ramblers' lead to 51-48, but Lucas Williamson calmly buried a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left to bump the lead back to five and seal the outcome.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Townes finished with 13 points, four boards and three assists, while Ingram added 13 points and eight rebounds, hitting 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc.
• Richardson had a solid all-around game, totaling nine points, six assists, four steals, a block and a rebound.
• Krutwig added eight points and four boards for Loyola, which limited UNI to 39.2 percent (20-for-51) shooting, including just 25 percent (4-for-16) from three-point territory.

 
Up Next
Loyola advances to the MVC Championship semifinal round and will face the winner of the No. 4 Drake versus No. 5 Bradley game at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in a game that will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.