CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago opened the 2024-25 slate with a 79-72 win over Chicago State Monday night. Jayden Dawson led all-scorers with the first 20-point performance of the season. He scored 20 on 7-of-17 from the field with three from the arc.
 
Loyola improves to 1-0 overall.
 
"It was so much fun to finally get to play somebody else. The crowd was electric and as always the students were insane. I love their energy tonight and they had double duty supporting our women before us," said head coach Drew Valentine. "What I know tonight is that I have a tough resilient group in that locker room that believes in this place. When it came down to making plays, we made more. Credit to Chicago State because I really do think that those guys over there play hard and confident."
 
How It Happened
Loyola opened the game on a 6-0 run with easy layups inside by Justin Moore, Des Watson, and Miles Rubin. Chicago State quickly tied it with back-to-back threes and would take its first lead with another three at the 15:49 mark to go up, 9-8. The next three minutes were scoreless on both sides as both teams struggled to find a rhythm. Loyola regained a lead on a pair of free throws, but the Cougars stayed hot from the arc to swing it back 14-12.
 
Midway through the first, Cameron Jernigan completed a three-point play for CSU's largest lead yet at six. The Cougars kept it at six with 6:33 to go on a Quincy Allen three. Two minutes later, Watson and Dawson went for two straight buckets to tie it 27-all, while Dawson would finally reclaim the lead on a layup with a minute left. He'd connect again from deep on a buzzer beater, putting Loyola up at the break, 37-35.
 
The Cougars tied the game out of the break but it was the closest they'd get to the Ramblers for the rest of the game. The Ramblers answered with a 6-0 run capped by another Dawson three. Loyola grew its lead to 10 following a Watson three and pair of free throws from Moore with 14:10 on the clock. Sheldon Edwards Jr. kept the lead at 10 with a transition three from the corner with 10:29 to play.
 
After another two-minute scoreless stretch, Jalen Quinn gave the Ramblers their largest lead at 12 with a jumper in the paint. Loyola led by 11 under the four-minute mark with a three from Moore. Chicago State didn't quit, cutting the lead down to seven by the 1:30 mark, while Gabe Spinelli got it down to five with 17 seconds left to play. Watson and Moore converted late at the line, and the Ramblers won, 79-72.
 
Inside the Box Score
- Watson and Moore joined Dawson in double-figures with 14 points each.
- Watson grabbed eight boards and tallied two steals, while Moore had seven assists.
- Francis Nwaokorie grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
- Jalen DeLoach and Jalen Quinn tallied nine points each. DeLoach added six boards.
- Dawson and Quinn had two blocks each. Both were career-highs.
- Loyola shot 41.3 percent from the field (26-63) and went 6-of-25 from deep after going 1-for-10 from the arc in the first half.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers stay home for two more games this week. First up, Loyola and Detroit Mercy will play Thursday at 7 p.m. in Gentile Arena.