CHICAGO, Ill. (January 7, 2023)
 
In Short…
Philip Alston matched his Loyola personal best with 23 points while Ben Schwieger fell a rebound shy of his first-career double-double Saturday (Jan. 7), as Loyola dropped an 86-75 decision to George Mason inside EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.
 
Braden Norris added 12 points, five rebounds and a game-high seven assists in the contest as the Ramblers were unable to overcome a hot-shooting George Mason squad in the second half.
 
How It Happened
A pull-up jumper from Marquise Kennedy opened the scoring Saturday while the Ramblers forced stops on George Mason's first three possessions of the game. Early work at the free throw line by Braden Norris helped the Ramblers build an 8-4 lead at the 16:04 mark, with three of the eight points coming off Norris free throws.
 
Ben Schwieger's second 3-pointer of the first half helped the Ramblers even George Mason up at 18-all with 10:45 remaining and would kickstart an 11-2 run over just four minutes of game action. Alston converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, Schwieger drilled another triple and Kennedy beat the shot clock with a jumper to give the Ramblers its largest lead of the first half at 26-19.
 
Kennedy would start to heat up, scoring four of Loyola's next five points to give him eight in the game. The two teams would remain even down the stretch, heading to the break tied at 35. Schwieger led the way with 11 points and six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes while Alston added 10 points and three blocks.
 
An 8-0 George Mason run over 1:59 gave the Patriots a 45-40 lead and forced the Ramblers to burn a timeout. Alston battled down low and got a jumper to fall, while Norris knocked down a triple Loyola's next possession down the court to get Loyola within a pair at the 15:11 mark of the second half.
 
Bryce Golden's layup with 10:03 remaining kept Loyola within striking distance at 59-56, but George Mason would then go on a 10-2 run to build an 11-point advantage. Back-to-back old-fashioned 3-point plays by Alston and Tom Welch immediately corralled the deficit back down to five with just under eight minutes remaining.
 
The Patriots kept the Ramblers from climbing back any closer, maintaining at least a six-point lead for the remainder of the contest.
 
Inside The Box Score

• Alston recorded his third 20-point game of the year with his game-high 23 points. The junior has now scored in double figures in all but three games this season.
• Norris matched his season high with seven assists, the fourth time this year Norris had seven assists in a game.
• Loyola's 11 turnovers were tied for the second-fewest the Ramblers had committed in a game this season.
• The nine rebounds by Schwieger are a new season high, surpassing his previous best of five, set on two occasions.

 
Up Next
Loyola returns home on Tuesday, Jan. 10 to take on VCU. Tip-off inside Gentile Arena is set for 6 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.