SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (January 31, 2021)
 
In Short
Another suffocating defensive effort allowed Loyola University Chicago (14-3, 9-1 MVC) to jump out to a big lead right from the opening tip and never look back in a 72-46 victory at Missouri State (9-4, 5-4 MVC) this afternoon at JQH Arena. The Ramblers, who held Missouri State to a paltry 27.1 percent (16-for-59) shooting, have now won seven straight contests, and with today's win, picked up their first victory at JQH Arena since February 21, 2016.
 
Coach Moser's Thoughts
"I thought our first group came out and set a tone defensively. We were doing some good things offensively and we have so much respect for (Isiaih) Mosley and (Gaige) Prim. They are two MVP candidates."
 
How It Happened
Loyola couldn't have asked for a better start, scoring the game's first eight points in building a 22-2 lead. Keith Clemons scored nearly half of the Ramblers' points in that game-opening run, tallying 10 points, while defensively, the Maroon and Gold limited Missouri State to just 1 of 11 shooting. The Ramblers entered the game ranked second in the nation in scoring defense and held the Bears without a field goal for 8:34 in the opening period in extending its lead from 13-2 to 22-2.
 
Loyola's lead would balloon to 41-12 on an Aher Uguak dunk off a pretty feed from Krutwig and the Ramblers took a 41-16 lead into the half after stifling the Bears into just 6-for-28 (.214) shooting from the field, and they misfired on all nine of their three-point tries in the first period.
 
Krutwig and Clemons came up big in the first half, scoring 12 points each, and Krutwig also hauled in seven rebounds. 
 
Loyola never allowed its advantage to dip below 20 points in the second half as it coasted to its seventh straight win overall and fifth in a row on the road.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Krutwig finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists and moved into seventh place on Loyola's career scoring chart with 1,623 points.
• Clemons finished with 12 points, scoring all of those tallies in the opening stanza, while corralling a season-high six rebounds. 
• The Ramblers shot 52.8 percent (28-for-53) from the field and held Isiaih Mosley, who came into today's game ranked second in the NCAA in scoring with 22.9 points per game, to eight points on 3 of 12 shooting. Loyola also kept Gaige Prim (17.1 ppg) in check, limiting the big man to two points.
• Loyola has now won 20 road games in MVC play since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers and Bears finish up the two-game series tomorrow night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.