ST. LOUIS (March 6, 2022)
 
In Short
Lucas Williamson and Aher Uguak each recorded a double-double and once again it was Loyola University Chicago's defense that provided the difference as the Ramblers (25-7) punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 64-58 victory over Drake (24-10) this afternoon at the Enterprise Center in the title game of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. This marks the first time since the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons that Loyola has reached the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years.
 
How It Happened
Turnovers and a stagnant offense plagued Loyola in the opening minutes, leading to Drake being able to get out to a 18-8 lead with 8:44 remaining in the half. That's when the Ramblers switched it into another gear at the defensive end of the floor, using their defense to generate offense.
 
A three from Ryan Schwieger opened up a flurry of Loyola points – 19 in a row as a matter of fact – that featured six points from Williamson. A Braden Norris three off an offensive rebound of a missed free throw punctuated the run and left the Ramblers with a 27-18 lead, their largest of the half. After holding Northern Iowa without a field goal for the final 15:12 of the yesterday's semifinal-round contest, Loyola limited the Bulldogs to no field goals over seven minutes during that 19-0 run.
 
Drake gathered itself, however, scoring the final seven points of the period to climb within 27-25 at the break.
 
Loyola was able to hold off every Drake rally in the second half and once the Bulldogs crept within 40-38, the Ramblers assembled a 10-4 spurt that was capped by a conventional three-point play from Uguak that boosted the lead to 50-42 with 8:46 left to play.
 
The Ramblers led by as many as nine points in the second half and appeared in control with a 55-46 advantage and only 4:27 remaining in regulation. That's when Drake made a game of it, piecing together seven unanswered points to climb within 55-53.
 
Five straight free throws, four of which came from Uguak, nudged the Loyola advantage to 60-53 and provided some temporary breathing room with 39 seconds remaining. However, a Tremell Murphy three-pointer and a pair of Roman Penn free throws knocked the Ramblers' lead down to a precarious two points (60-58) with 22 seconds left.
 
Loyola salted away the game with a pair of Schwieger foul shots and got a stop at the defensive end before Norris knocked down two freebies to seal the outcome and touch off a wild celebration on the Enterprise Center floor.
 
A Look at the Numbers

• Loyola held Drake to just 35.6 percent (21-for-59) accuracy from the field, including 25 percent (5-for-20) from three-point range, to secure its third MVC Championship crown in the last five years.
• Williamson was outstanding at both ends of the court, picking a perfect time for his first double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds) since the 2018-19 campaign, while Uguak was a menace at both ends on his way to 16 points and 10 boards.
• Schwieger scored in double digits for the third time in as many games at Arch Madness and provided 13 points, five boards and two steals, while Norris chipped in 10 points.
• Loyola is the ninth team in MVC history to win back-to-back Arch Madness crowns and the first since Bradley in 2019 and 2020.
• The tournament title caps once of the most impressive defensive efforts in MVC Championship history. In three games this weekend, the Ramblers limited opponents to 50.3 points per game on an anemic 30.1 percent shooting from the field (50-for-166) and 20.3 percent (13-for-64) from three-point range.
• Penn led Drake with 18 points.
• Williamson was named the Doug Elgin Most Outstanding Player of the MVC Championship and was joined on the all-tournament team by Braden Norris, Tucker DeVries (Drake), Roman Penn (Drake) and Isiaih Mosley (Missouri State).

 
Up Next
Loyola will learn its postseason fate on the NCAA Selection Sunday Show on March 13 at 5 p.m. on CBS.