PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS (November 26, 2021)
 
In Short
Behind a career-high 26 points from sophomore center Jacob Hutson, Loyola University Chicago (5-2) rolled to a 77-59 victory over Arizona State (2-5) tonight in the seventh-place game at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis. Loyola has won three of its last six matchups with teams from Power 5 conferences and dating back to last season, is 24-4 in the last 28 outings.
 
Coach Valentine's Thoughts
"The guys stepped up and made plays tonight. It's not easy to come out and play well after two really emotional games. Hutty was fantastic in so many ways and I'm really pleased with the group overall."
 
How It Happened
A Lucas Williamson three-point field goal four minutes into the game gave Loyola the lead for good, at 9-8. Minutes later, clinging to a two-point advantage, Keith Clemons buried a three to open a 12-3 Ramblers burst that was punctuated by a Braden Norris triple that ran the lead to 27-16, the largest of the half.
 
Arizona State pecked away at the Ramblers' advantage, cutting it down to four points on a pair of occasions, but a Hutson layup with five seconds remaining in the period sent Loyola into the intermission in possession of a 39-33 lead.
 
Loyola hit the Sun Devils with seven straight points, the first four coming on baskets by Hutson and the final three coming on a trey from Aher Uguak, in the opening three minutes of the second stanza to extend the edge to 46-33. Moments later, a Ryan Schwieger three-pointer nudged the Ramblers' advantage to 51-37, but ASU rattled off seven unanswered points to chop the Loyola lead in half.
 
Hutson took over from there though, sinking a pair of threes and adding a pair of free throws, as part of 10-2 spurt that pushed the Loyola lead to 61-46 and effectively ended any hopes of a Sun Devils rally.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• The win halted a modest two-game losing skid for the Ramblers, who shot 50 percent (26-for-52) from the field and connected on 12 of 26 tries (.462) from three-point territory.
• Hutson nailed a trio of three-pointers en route to his 26 points and added five rebounds.
• Schwieger reached double figures off the bench for the fourth time this season, racking up 11 points and five rebounds.
• Lucas Williamson scored nine points and Chris Knight and Marquise Kennedy added eight points each as all nine Ramblers who played more than one minute of action scored at least one point.
• Since the start of the 2016-17 campaign, the Ramblers have recorded nine wins versus teams from Power 5 conferences.
• Jay Heath put up a team-high 16 points to lead Arizona State, which saw leading scorer Kimani Lawrence, who entered the game averaging 13.2 points per game, get held to two points on 1-for-6 shooting.

 
Up Next
Loyola returns to Chicago and opens Missouri Valley Conference play Wednesday (Dec. 1) when it welcomes Indiana State to Gentile Arena.