CHICAGO (February 6, 2021)
 
In Short
Cameron Krutwig produced game highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds to help Loyola University Chicago (16-3, 11-1 MVC) to a 68-55 victory over Evansville (8-9, 6-5 MVC) this afternoon at Gentile Arena for its ninth straight win. With the victory, the Ramblers also extended their home court winning streak to 18 games.
 
Coach Moser's Thoughts
"I'm extremely happy to gut it out and win that game. Evansville is very hard to guard. They make shots and every guy on the floor can shoot and that really spreads you out. I'm extremely happy to find a way to win that game."
 
How It Happened
Loyola got off to a slow start shooting the ball, hitting just 2 of its first 8 tries from the field, but also forced five Purple Aces turnovers through the first eight minutes, only to trail, 10-7, at the under 12 media timeout.
 
Seven straight tallies, five courtesy Keith Clemons, allowed the Ramblers to claim their first lead of the afternoon at 16-12. Loyola's lead would grow to as many as 10 points thanks to seven Cameron Krutwig points during a 9-0 Ramblers run that bumped a one-point edge into a 31-21 advantage.
 
Loyola wound up hitting 11 of its final 17 field goal attempts in the opening period and took a 36-27 lead into the break.
 
Evansville knocked down a pair of triples in an 8-2 half-opening run that trimmed Loyola's lead to 38-35, but Krutwig responded with an old-fashioned three-point play to stretch the advantage back to six points (41-35) and provide some breathing room.
 
Following an Aces bucket, a three from Lucas Williamson touched off a 16-4 run in which six different Ramblers scored, to extend the lead to 57-41 with 11:40 remaining. Evansville mounted a comeback and rattled off seven unanswered points to slice Loyola's lead to 57-48 left to go, but a Baylor Hebb free throw and a Braden Norris layup put the Ramblers back up double digits (60-48) and the Purple Aces would never get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• In addition to picking up his first double-double since December 18, Krutwig added four assists, three blocks and a steal. His 11 boards moved him into 10^thplace on Loyola's career rebounding chart with 846 and he has joined Alfredrick Hughes as the only two players in program history to rank in the school's top 10 in both scoring and rebounding.
• Clemons scored in double figures for the third time in the last four outing, totaling 12 points, to go with three assists and three steals.
• Williamson and Norris tossed in nine points apiece and Aher Uguak put up eight points.
• Loyola shot 55.1 percent (27-for-49) for the game and committed only six turnovers. 
• The Ramblers have now won 17 straight Missouri Valley Conference home games.

 
Up Next
These same two teams wrap up the two-game series tomorrow at 1 p.m. CT at Gentile Arena.