Boxscore 

CHICAGO (October 29, 2019)
 
In Short
Lucas Williamson tallied a team-high 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half, but Loyola University Chicago's late rally fell short in a 65-60 loss to the University of Indianapolis in an exhibition contest tonight at Gentile Arena. Of the nine players to see action for the Ramblers tonight, five were newcomers. 
 
How It Happened
Indianapolis, a perennial Great Lakes Valley Conference power, rode the hot hand of Trevor Lakes early, jumping out to an 11-4 lead thanks to a trio of three-point field goals from the 6-foot-7 junior forward. Loyola chipped away at the deficit, closing within a point three times in the first half, the last coming at 18-17 on a pair of free throws from Tom Welch.
 
But, a Demarre Sims layup sparked a 14-4 Greyhounds run that culminated with a jumper from Marcus Latham that ballooned the visitors' lead to 32-21, their largest of the game to that point. Despite a rough shooting period, Loyola trailed just 35-26 at halftime after connecting on only 33 percent (7-for-21) of its field goal tries.
 
Indianapolis started the second half with a quick 7-0 spurt that was part of a larger 15-6, period-opening run that extended its advantage to 50-32 with 12:27 remaining. Williamson flipped a switch, strapping the team to his back and hitting two three-pointers and scoring all of the Ramblers' points in an 8-0 run that knocked the deficit down to 50-40. Although Loyola had a handful of opportunities to further shrink the gap, it was unable to capitalize and the Greyhounds would bump their lead back to 13 points (58-45). 
 
Loyola had one final push left in the tank and a steal and ensuing layup by Paxson Wojcik cut the U of Indy lead to 60-53 with 1:13 left to play, however, the Greyhounds were able to fend off the Ramblers' surge to escape with a 65-60 victory.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• In addition to his team-best, 17-point output, Williamson added seven rebounds and a pair of assists, while Cameron Krutwig contributed 14 points, five boards and three steals.
• The Ramblers struggled from long range, knocking down just 3 of 18 shots from beyond the arc, and shot just 36.7 percent (18-for-49) overall.
• Freshman Marquise Kennedy, who earned the start in his Loyola debut, showed signs of his enormous pontential, totaling 11 points and three rebounds, while playing 29 minutes of turnover-free basketball.
• Lakes led all scorers with 22 points, hitting 6 of 11 shots from three-point territory.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers officially raise the curtain on the 2019-20 season next Tuesday (Nov. 5) when they host UC Davis at 7 p.m.