Jan. 19, 2006

Box Score

CHICAGO - The junior duo of Majak Kou and Blake Schilb combined for 46 points to lead Loyola (11-6, 3-4 Horizon) to a 74-64 win over Butler (9-7, 2-2) this evening at the Gentile Center. The win was the second straight for the Ramblers at the start of a six-game homestand.

"We are real happy to get the win, we had to beat a real good basketball team to do that," said head coach Jim Whitesell. "Our guys knew we had to play until the very end. If you are a fan, I am sure you thought this was a great basketball game."

Butler opened the game hot from the three-point line and turned an early 8-6 lead into an 18-11 bulge after five straight points from A.J. Graves. Schilb kept the Ramblers in the game, scoring nine straight LU points at one stretch, and the team battled back, reeling off eight straight points to take a 19-18 lead with 8:03 on the clock. Graves answered with another three-pointer but it only stemmed the tide momentarily, as Loyola extended the lead to seven (28-21) on a Schilb hoop at the 4:26 mark. The Bulldogs chipped away, eventually cutting the deficit to one, before Chris Logan knocked down a big three-pointer in the final minute to give the Ramblers a 34-30 lead heading to intermission. Schilb led all scorers with 14 points in the half, knocking down 5-of-7 from the floor and both of his three-point attempts, as Loyola shot the ball at a 57% clip in the period.

A three-pointer from Avery Sheets early in the second half pulled the visitors even at 36 but Loyola never wavered and Schilb answered with a jumper to give LU the lead back and found Kye Pattrick on the break for a three-point play that boosted the lead to five at the 17:10 mark. The teams exchanged hoops over the next three minutes before Tracy Robinson gave the Ramblers a seven-point lead with a trey from the left corner. Butler clawed its way back to within one with 11:09 left before Kou took over. The junior guard buried consecutive three-pointers to extend the lead back to seven (60-53), drove baseline for a dunk after Butler cut it to four and scored 16 of Loyola's last 20 points as the Ramblers were able to keep the visitors at bay, with the help of a critical Logan jumper with the shot-clock expiring in the final minute.

Kou scored 18 of his career-high 24 points in the second half, when Loyola hit 17-of-25 (.680) from the floor. Schilb finished with 22 points and eight boards, as the Ramblers enjoyed a 33-23 edge on the glass, and Logan also reached double figures, finishing with 11 points. Sheets led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points.

Loyola returns to action next Thursday night when it hosts UW-Green Bay at the Gentile Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.