CHICAGO, Ill. (January 21, 2023)
 
In Short…
Loyola University Chicago (7-12, 1-6 A-10) picked up its first conference win as members of the A-10 conference Saturday afternoon with a 67-55 victory over St. Bonaventure (10-10, 4-3 A-10) inside Gentile Arena.
 
The Rambler reserves were the stars of the show Saturday, as four players came off the bench to score in double figures. Tom Welch matched a game-high with 16 thanks largely to an 8-for-10 performance from the free throw line Jeameril Wilson scored a season-high 11 points, Jacob Hutson chipped in a season-best 10 points while Marquise Kennedy added 10 points as well.
 
Loyola's defense was stellar all afternoon, limiting St. Bonaventure to 55 points on 31.1% shooting, the second-lowest shooting percentage by a Loyola opponent this season.
 
How It Happened
The Ramblers were cold from the floor to start, going 1-for-6 from the field to open the game and allowing the Bonnies to take an early 7-2 lead at the first media timeout. Back-to-back buckets by Tom Welch and Philip Alston started to wake up the Loyola offense. The next four points would come via Welch in the paint, as Loyola pulled within five at 15-10 with 10:56 remaining in the opening half.
 
Jalen Quinn kick-started a 10-0 Loyola run with a layup to give their Ramblers their first lead of the game. Jacob Huston, who had just checked in, immediately provided offense via an old-fashioned 3-point play before Jeameril Wilson scored five consecutive points for Loyola to take a 20-16 lead with 6:32 remaining in the opening half.
 
Hutson would connect from beyond the arc with 4:46 remaining in the first half to help push the Rambler lead to five before a Quinn free throw gave the Ramblers their largest lead of the half at 24-18 with just over four minutes to play.
 
Loyola maintained its advantage for the remainder of the half, taking a 31-27 lead into the halftime break. Wilson led all scorers with nine in the opening half, surpassing his previous season-best of five.
 
It was all Hutson to open the second half as he scored on Loyola's first two possessions to push the lead to eight at 35-27. The pair of buckets gave Hutson 10 points in the game, nearly matching his season total (11) entering action Saturday.
 
Loyola's defense began to lock down, as St. Bonaventure went 0-for-7 from the field over a three-minute stretch. The Ramblers pushed the advantage back up to six thanks to a pair of Braden Norris free throws.
 
The teams began to trade blows, matching each other bucket for bucket. Loyola kept a four to six-point lead on the Bonnies over a two-minute stretch, taking a 50-46 lead into the under-8 timeout.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers off the hand of Ben Schwieger pushed Loyola's lead to a game-high nine at 58-49 with 3:59 to play.
 
Over the closing minutes, Loyola would score five in a row from the free throw line before Marquise Kennedy's dunk with 30 seconds left put an exclamation point on the afternoon.
 
Inside The Box Score

• Hutson nearly matched his season point total on Saturday alone. Hutson entered the game with 11 points on the season before scoring 10 off the bench against the Bonnies.
• Wilson had his best game in a Rambler uniform this season, surpassing his previous season-high five.
• The Loyola bench accounted for 47 of the team's 67 points. The Ramblers held a 47-14 advantage in bench points.
• All nine Ramblers who played brought in at least one rebound, while eight of the nine Ramblers scored at least three points. Philip Alston led the rebounding effort with six boards.

 
 
Up Next
Loyola hits the road on Wednesday, Jan. 25 to take on Duquesne. Tip-off in Pittsburgh is slated for 6 p.m. (CT).
 
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