FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Loyola Chicago men's basketball held Colorado State to 32.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three-point range as the Ramblers downed the Rams 73-58 Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Agarwal led Loyola's scoring with 11 points.
Loyola improves to 2-1 overall.
"The thing I have been most excited about this season is the consistency with the physicality on defense that I thought this group had the potential to do, and we saw some of that today," said head coach
Drew Valentine. "We are still growing and gelling, but a long road trip like this allows them to overcome some adversity and grow closer together. We were able to get out on transition, and our bench was great today. A lot of positives to build on for next week."
How It Happened
The first few minutes of Saturday's matinee were back-and-forth with three ties and three lead changes by the 15-minute mark.
Xavier Amos hit a wide-open three for a 12-9 edge out of the media timeout, while
Jayden Dawson drained one from the corner with 11:54 on the clock to lead the Ramblers on a 12-2 run that put Loyola up by double-digits ahead of the eight-minute media.
Loyola's first-half dominance continued as the Rams were held without a field goal from the 12:44 to 2:48 mark. The Ramblers went up by 18 three times in that stretch and later took their largest lead yet with seven straight points to end the half.
Jason Schofield's free throws put Loyola up 20 at the break, 44-24.
Dawson hit a three on the second half's opening possession for Loyola's largest lead of the game. He kept the lead north of 20 on a drive three minutes in. The Rams slowly chipped their way back in, cutting Loyola's lead down to 12 on a 9-2 run by the 9:40 mark.
The next three minutes saw a combined seven made free throw attempts as the Ramblers stayed up by double-digits. Despite Loyola getting back up to 17 on the lead with four straight from
Jason Schofield and
Dayan Nessah, Colorado State scored eight unanswered to get within nine with 2:49 to go. The Ramblers stepped up to the line for the reminder of the game, scoring the final six points to win, 73-58.
Inside the Box Score
- Agarwal was one of four Ramblers in double-figures with a team-high 11 points. He went 4-9 from the field and added six rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
- Schofield, Dawson, and Amos added 10 points in the win.
- The Ramblers outrebounded the Rams, 40-31. Nessah, Schofield, and Agarwal had six boards each.
- Elias Rapieque led Loyola with four assists.
- The Ramblers shot 42.9 percent from the field and made seven threes. Loyola held CSU to 32.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from three.
- The Ramblers scored 18 points on 18 CSU turnovers and dominated in the paint, 28-10.
Up Next
The Ramblers return to Gentile next week. Loyola plays host to Wichita State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.
