Box Score | Postgame Comments | Highlights

CHICAGO - Loyola shot a blistering 83% in the second half and outscored visiting Abilene Christian, 45-15, after halftime in an 83-44 victory tonight in the opening game of the Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic at Gentile Arena. The win pushes the Ramblers to 7-2 on the season while the Wildcats drop to 4-5 with the loss.

A Montel James dunk started the scoring but Abilene Christian enjoyed the better of play in the early stages. The Ramblers started out cold from the field, hitting just three of their first 11 shots as the Wildcats jumped out to an 18-13 lead after eight minutes. A Milton Doyle three-pointer got Loyola going and jumpstarted a 14-1 spurt over the next five minutes that ended with the home team owning a 27-19 advantage. Abilene Christian hung around, using a three-pointer from Austin Cooke and a three-point play from LaDarrien Williams to draw within three (30-27) but a Jay Knuth hoop and a Devon Turk triple quickly made it an eight-point game again and the Ramblers took a 38-29 lead into halftime after Turk's fourth trey of the half. The Ramblers knocked down 7-of-11 from the arc in the opening period and finished at 50% (12 of 24) overall.

Loyola came out of the locker room with renewed energy and four points from James and two from Christian Thomas opened the second-half scoring. The lead ballooned to 17 (49-32) on a Ben Richardson jumper but ACU was still within 12, 49-37, before the Ramblers put it away. Another James hoop started a 15-0 run that made it a 64-37 game and Loyola kept pushing, outscoring the Wildcats 34-7 over the final 13:45 of the game to close out an 83-44 victory.

Thirteen of the 14 Ramblers scratched the scorebook and the team connected on 15-of-18 (83.3%) of its shots in the second half while LU's active defense held Abilene Christian to just 14% accuracy (4 of 29). As a result, Loyola owned a whopping 42-17 edge on the backboards.

James and Turk led Loyola with 13 points apiece, with James adding a game-high six rebounds. Reigning Missouri Valley Newcomer of the Week Earl Peterson also reached double figures, finishing with 11 points, while five other Ramblers scored between six and eight points, led by Jay Knuth, who finished with eight points (2-2 FGs, 4-4 FTs) and five rebounds.

Loyola returns to action on Friday night when it takes on Southern Utah at 7 p.m. inside Gentile Arena. The game is also part of the Las Vegas Classic and serves as the final tuneup before the team heads to Las Vegas for the championship round of the tournament.