Boxscore 

CHICAGO (November 5, 2019)
 
In Short
Four players scored in double digits and junior center Cameron Krutwig fell two rebounds shy of a triple-double as Loyola University Chicago (1-0) coasted to an 82-48 victory over UC Davis (0-1) tonight at Gentile Arena in the season opener for both teams. The Ramblers, who dominated the Aggies in the paint, outscoring them, 58-28, have now won eight straight season openers.
 
How It Happened
After an entertaining first few minutes of back-and-forth action, Loyola was able to grab the lead for good thanks to a spurt of six unanswered points that was bookended by a pair of layups from Tate Hall, giving the hosts a 14-8 edge. 
 
Several minutes later, a jumper by Matt Neufeld brought UC Davis within 20-16, with a little over nine minutes remaining in the half, but a three-pointer by Lucas Williamson jump-started a period-closing, 19-6 run that featured seven points from Krutwig, as Loyola took a commanding 39-22 lead into the locker room at halftime. 
 
Despite not shooting well from the perimeter in the opening 20 minutes, the Ramblers connected on 16 of 25 shots from inside the three-point arc, and limited the Aggies to just 1-for-11 accuracy (.091) from long range.
 
Loyola never let up in the second half and added to its lead once UC Davis got within 16, at 41-25, less than a minute into the period. Over the next 11-plus minutes, the Ramblers outscored the Aggies, 28-11, with Paxson Wojcik's layup stretching the LU advantage to 69-36. That lead would grow to as many as 36 points on a pair of occasions, the last time coming when Bruno Skokna knocked down a pair of foul shots to make it 77-41 with 4:04 left to play.
 
A Look At The Numbers

• Krutwig posted his eighth career double-double but his first of the points/assists variety. The 7-foot-9 center scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds but dished out a career-best 11 assists to only one turnover.
• Krutwig is the first Rambler to hand out 10 assists in a game since Denzel Brito dropped 10 dimes against Fordham in the opening game of the remodeled Gentile Arena on November 26, 2011.
• Hall had an impressive all-around outing, racking up 14 points, nine boards, three assists and four steals as he filled up the stat sheet in his Loyola debut after sitting out last season following a transfer from the University of Indianapolis.
• Williamson pitched in 13 points and five rebounds and freshman guard Marquise Kennedy totaled 11 points, three boards and a pair of steals in his first official appearance as a Rambler.
• As a team, the Ramblers dished out 20 assists and committed only eight turnovers, while shooting 55.6 percent (35-for-63) from the field, with many of those buckets coming from close range.
• Skokna contributed nine points off the bench, while Aher Uguak accounted for eight points and three rebounds for the victorious Ramblers.
• Matt Neufeld led UC Davis, which shot just 3-for-17 (.176) from three-point territory, with 15 points

 
Up Next
Loyola travels to Furman, which opened its season tonight with a win over Gardner-Webb, Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.