Box Score

CARBONDALE, Ill. (February 24, 2019)
 
In Short
Southern Illinois (15-14, 8-8 MVC) closed the game on a 15-4 run to earn a 63-53 victory over Loyola University Chicago (17-12, 10-6 MVC) this afternoon at SIU Arena. Clayton Custer and Cameron Krutwig each scored 17 points to pace the Ramblers.
 
How It Happened
Loyola got off to a strong start, scoring the game's first seven points as they pounded the ball inside and Cameron Krutwig accounted for of those early tallies. Southern Illinois battled back and grabbed its first lead of the day on Thik Bol's jumper with 13:05 left in the period.
 
The teams traded baskets for a brief time before Aher Uguak knocked down a pair of free throws to spark an 8-2 burst that featured four more points from Krutwig and was capped by a layup from Christian Negron that gave the Ramblers a 24-19 lead.
 
SIU charged back and put together a 10-2 run of its own, punctuated by a three-pointer from Armon Fletcher to seize a 29-26 advantage, but a hoop from Marques Townes and then a buzzer-beating jumper from Uguak sent Loyola into the break with a slim 30-29 edge.
 
Back-to-back baskets from Clayton Custer and Uguak wiped out a two-point deficit, but SIU answered with five straight tallies to grab a 43-40 lead with 12:32 remaining. A Krutwig basket ensued and ignited a stretch of seven straight points, capped by a three from Custer, for a 47-43 LU edge.
 
SIU countered that punch from Loyola with an 11-2 run that out the Salukis back ahead, at 54-49, with 5:11 left to play. Custer stemmed the tide, hitting a jumper to make it a one-possession game, and then a layup from Townes cut the deficit to 54-53.
 
But, Aaron Cook drained a three from the left corner with 1:11 showing on the clock to extend the SIU lead to 57-53 and the Salukis never looked back.
 
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Krutwig finished with 17 points, hitting 7 of 11 shots from the field, while Custer netted 17 points.
• Townes added eight points and 10 boards and Uguak pitched in seven points and a pair of steals.
• Armon Fletcher led Southern Illinois with a game-high 18 points.

 
Up Next
Loyola plays its final road game of the regular season Wednesday evening (Feb. 27) when it travels to UNI for a 7 p.m. contest.