CHICAGO, Ill. (December 31, 2022)
 
In Short…
Loyola University Chicago (6-7, 0-1 A10) was unable to slow down the George Washington (7-7, 1-0) offense Saturday (Dec. 31) evening, dropping a 97-87 decision in Loyola's first-ever conference game as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
 
How It Happened
Marquise Kennedy forced a steal on the opening possession of the game and Ben Schwieger converted on the offensive end to put the Ramblers up 2-0 in the early going. It was all Schwieger in the early going as the redshirt freshman would score Loyola's first nine points.
 
George Washington used a 9-0 run over 1:56 of game action to take an 18-14 lead with 10:28 left in the opening half, but a jumper in the paint by Bryce Golden ended the Colonial run. Loyola looked to keep up with the hot shooting of George Washington, as the visitors were a blistering 75% from the field over the first 12+ minutes to take a 26-21 lead with 7:35 left in the half.
 
The combination of Norris and Alston scored the next nine Loyola points to pull the Ramblers back even at 30-all with 4:37 to play. Despite George Washington shooting 64% from the field by the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Loyola found themselves in just a 3-point hole at 40-37. Five triples by the Ramblers, including a pair by Norris, kept Loyola within striking distance entering the second half.
 
A 9-2 Colonial scoring run to open the second half forced a Loyola timeout, trailing, 49-39, with 17:19 remaining in the game. The run would extend to a 12-4 scoring advantage until back-to-back buckets by Marquise Kennedy and Alston pulled the Ramblers within eight at the 15:33 mark. The Ramblers slowly began to chip away at the deficit, as Alston's 3-point play at the 9:01 mark got Loyola within four at 69-65.
 
Loyola would get within four points of the Colonials once more at 74-70 with 6:06 to play, but was unable to get any closer as George Washington countered every potential Rambler run with a key bucket.
 
Inside The Box Score
-       Loyola had no answer for George Washington's James Bishop. Entering the night as the leading scorer in the conference and 16^th nationally with 20.5 points per game, Bishop erupted for 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting while going 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
-       Bryce Golden provided a spark off the bench for the Ramblers, scoring 13 points on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting in just under 14 minutes of action.
-       The Ramblers controlled the paint, outscoring the Colonials by a 40-26 margin in paint points.
-       Saturday marked the first time this season in which Loyola had five players score in double figures. Kennedy had a team-high 23 while Alston (21) Schwieger (14), Golden (13) and Norris (11) all reached double figures.
-       Tom Welch led the rebounding effort for Loyola with seven while Alston ended with six, with all six coming on the offensive glass.
 
Up Next
Loyola heads on the road for its first two league road games next week, opening the trip at Davidson on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. (CT) on CBS Sports Network.