ST. LOUIS (March 4, 2022)
 
In Short
A gritty Loyola University Chicago (23-7) defense frustrated No. 5 seed Bradley (17-14) into just 31.4 percent (16-for-51) shooting, including a mere 20 percent (4-for-20) from three-point territory, in a dominating, 66-50 victory in a Missouri Valley Conference Championship quarterfinal-round game this afternoon at the Enterprise Center. With the win, the fourth-seeded Ramblers move on to the semifinal round tomorrow when they will take on regular-season champion, Northern Iowa.
 
How It Happened
Loyola ripped off 11 unanswered points, five of which came from Lucas Williamson and four that came courtesy of Chris Knight, to stake claim to a 17-8 lead they would not relinquish.
 
That run only fueled Loyola's performance at the defensive end, where it wound up limiting the Braves to 11 of 29 accuracy (.379) in the opening 20 minutes, including a paltry 3-for-11 (.273) from beyond the arc.
 
Once Bradley got within six, at 20-14, Loyola assembled a 14-5 spurt that featured treys from Aher Uguak and Ryan Schwieger, as the lead expanded to 34-19.
 
The Ramblers' largest lead of the half came on Marquise Kennedy's dunk that bumped the advantage to 44-24, although a Connor Hickman three in the final 30 seconds trimmed the Loyola edge to 44-27 at the break. Loyola was efficient in the first period, connecting on 53.6 percent (15-for-28) of its field goal tries, in building the double-digit lead.
 
Loyola was able to keep the Braves at bay in the second half and after the Braves snuck within 47-32, a conventional three-point play from Schwieger and a triple from Williamson opened up an 8-2 spurt that was capped by a hoop from Tate Hall that ran the advantage to 55-34. From that point on, Loyola never let the Braves get within 16 points.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Williamson, the MVC Defensive Player of the Year, scored a team-high 13 points and forced Bradley guard Terry Roberts, who was also a First Team All-MVC pick, into six turnovers.
• Schwieger added 11 points off the bench for an incredibly balanced Loyola attack, which reaped the benefits of the return of Kennedy, who made his first appearance in a month. Kennedy totaled nine points, three boards, two steals, an assist and a block in 17 minutes of play.
• Tom Welch and Uguak added eight points apiece and Hall snagged a team-best seven rebounds.
• Roberts scored 17 points to lead Bradley, which also received 11 points and 13 boards from Rienk Mast.
• With the win, first-year head coach Drew Valentine tied the Loyola record for wins by a first-year coach (23), originally set by Tom Haggerty in 1945-46.

 
Up Next
Loyola takes on No. 1 seed Northern Iowa (19-10) in tomorrow's first semifinal contest at 2:30 p.m. CT. That game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.