Dec. 29, 2011
Box Score
CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago (5-8, 0-3 Horizon) committed 21 turnovers and was never able to get into much of a flow on offense as visiting Wright State (7-8, 2-1 Horizon) picked up a 64-48 victory at Gentile Arena tonight. The loss snaps the Ramblers' four-game winning streak.
"We got out-toughed tonight," Loyola Head Coach Porter Moser said. "Wright State set the tone early. Ben (Averkamp) and Walt (Gibler) have been carrying us lately and tonight they struggled and we didn't have anyone to pick them up. Plus, it's tough to win when you commit 15 turnovers in the first half."
Gibler knocked down a jumper from the baseline to open the scoring, but that was the only time Loyola would hold the lead the entire night. With the majority of the first half being a defensive struggle, the Ramblers found themselves trailing by just one, at 12-11, with 9:57 left in the first half.
Wright State began to assert itself and seized control of the game by going on an 11-2 run to build a 23-13 lead that would eventually grow to as many as 12 points (28-16) in the first period. The Ramblers turned the ball over 15 times, with the Raiders converting those miscues into 16 points, in the opening 20 minutes and Loyola had only four baskets the entire period to fall behind 28-18 at the half.
Four free throws by Julius Mays and a three-pointer by Vance Hall helped the Raiders open the second period with seven answered points. Wright State's lead grew to as much as 27 (49-22), on John Balwigaire's three-pointer with 11:30 remaining.
Loyola refused to go quietly though, and a pair of free throws by Christian Thomas ignited a 14-2 run that closed the gap to 51-36. Ben Averkamp, who came into tonight's game averaging 24.3 points in the last four contests, got into early foul trouble and was limited to five points, his first coming on a three-pointer that made the score 51-36 with 6:58 remaining.
However, that was as close as Loyola would get as Mays scored seven of his team's next nine points as WSU pushed its lead back to 22 points, at 60-38.
Gibler scored 12 points and added seven rebounds to lead Loyola, while Thomas matched a season high with 11 points. Joe Crisman, who was seeing his first action since December 7 after suffering a hand injury, totaled nine points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench.
Mays led all scorers with 23 points.
Loyola closes out a brief two-game homestand when it hosts Detroit on Saturday at 1 p.m.
