CHICAGO, Ill. (December 18, 2022)
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In Short…
Braden Norris became the 46
th member of Loyola University Chicago's 1,000-point club Thursday (Dec. 22) evening as the Ramblers' furious comeback attempt came up short in a 75-62 loss to Stanford inside Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, California.
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Four Ramblers scored in double figures, led by Norris' team-high 18 points.
Marquise Kennedy added 14,
Philip Alston scored 11 and
Tom Welch dropped 10 as Loyola nearly erased a 21-point second-half deficit.
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How It Happened
A slow start for the Ramblers spotted Stanford the first four points of the game until
Tom Welch got the scoring started with back-to-back layups to even the score at 4-all at the first media timeout. An 11-2 Cardinal run, aided by a trio of 3-pointers, put Stanford in front by a 15-8 margin and forced a Loyola timeout with 10:59 left in the opening half.
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Loyola went over five minutes without a point, as the Stanford lead grew to as many as 13. A
Saint Thomas triple from the corner ended the scoring drought with 4:13 left in the half to pull the Ramblers within 10 at 28-18.
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The Ramblers couldn't turn the bucket into a run, as Stanford scored nine of the final 11 points to take a 37-20 lead into the halftime break.
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Loyola's shooting woes continued into the second half as Stanford outscored the Ramblers 10-6 to take a 47-26 lead with 14:16 remaining in the contest.
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Free throws started to bring Loyola back into it. A pair by
Philip Alston kickstarted a mini 12-6 scoring run over 5:03 of game action. Four of Loyola's first six points in the run came from the line, with Alston responsible for half of the 12 points during the run.
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Eight unanswered points, including a pair of
Marquise Kennedy 3-pointers, pulled Loyola within 10 with 2:25 left to play. Following a Stanford free throw, Norris drilled a 3 from the top of the key to trim the deficit to eight with just over two minutes remaining.
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Free throws by Stanford would prevent the Ramblers from getting any closer, as eight of Stanford's final 10 points came from the free throw line.
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Inside The Box Score
- Norris is the 46th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point threshold, becoming the first player since Lucas Williamson reached the milestone last year.
- After being held to a 33.3% field goal percentage in the first half, Loyola shot 48.4% from the field in the final 20 minutes to assist in the comeback attempt.
- Alston reached double figures for the fourth-straight game and ninth time in 12 contests this season.
- The 20 points scored by Loyola in the first half were the fewest points scored by the Ramblers in a half this season.
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Up Next
Following a break for the holidays, the Ramblers return to action on Saturday, Dec. 31 when Loyola plays host to George Washington in the program's first-ever Atlantic 10 Conference game. Tip-off inside Gentile Arena on New Year's Eve is set for 3 p.m. on NBC Sports Chicago.
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