Jan. 25, 2012

Box Score

DETROIT - Loyola University Chicago (5-15, 0-10 Horizon) spotted host Detroit (11-11, 5-5 Horizon) a 16-point first-half lead, then nearly wiped away that deficit, but ultimately came up short in a 67-52 loss at Calihan Hall tonight. Playing most of the contest without leading scorer Walt Gibler, who aggravated an injury in the game's opening minutes, the Ramblers held the Titans without a field goal for the final 6:11 of regulation.

"Because our margin of error is so small, we cannot afford to have starts like we did tonight," Loyola Head Coach Porter Moser said. "Our inability to rebound was the difference. Jordan (Hicks), Ben (Averkamp) and Joe (Crisman) displayed a toughness that will be the foundation of what this program is about as we move forward. I couldn't be more proud of their effort."

Detroit stung Loyola with an opening flurry of shots, both from the perimeter and from inside the paint, to open up a 21-5 advantage just seven minutes into the game. However, Loyola dusted itself off the mat and righted the ship, and from that point forward hit six three-pointers over the final 12:12 of the period. Joe Crisman continued to have the hot hand and didn't let a number change affect his shooting as he buried a trio of triples in the opening 20 minutes to help the Ramblers out-score the Titans, 26-19 over the final 12:12 of the half and find themselves trailing by just nine points (40-31) at the intermission. In going 3-for-3 from long range in the opening period, Crisman ran his streak of consecutive made threes to seven.

Trailing 51-39 with 13:17 left in the contest, Loyola got itself right back into the thick of things thanks to an 11-4 run that began with a basket by Jordan Hicks and was punctuated with a lay-up by John Benkoske. That spurt brought the Ramblers within five points, at 55-50. On Detroit's next possession, Eli Holman scored off of one of his team's 16 offensive rebounds on the evening, but a pair of free throws by Benkoske moved Loyola within five points yet again.

Loyola's defense was solid the rest of the way, holding Detroit without a field goal, but the Titans hit 10 of 12 shots from the foul line in the final 4:43, while the Ramblers were held scoreless after Benkoske's free throws at the 5:19 mark. Both teams turned up the heat on defense as Loyola held Detroit to 29 percent (7 for 24) shooting), but the Ramblers were just as cold and connected on 28 percent (8 for 29) of their field goal attempts.

Crisman continued his strong play of late by posting season highs of 16 points and seven rebounds, while Hicks chipped in a season-best 13 points. Ben Averkamp scored 11 of his 13 points in the opening half and also added four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Loyola wraps up its two-game road trip when it visits Wright State in a rare Friday night contest (Jan. 27).