CHICAGO – The Loyola men's basketball team cruised to a 104-44 victory over Trinity Christian College Sunday afternoon in the Ramblers' lone exhibition contest of the season.
 
Philip Alston scored a game-high 17 points in just 15 minutes of action, finishing 7-of-12 from the field. Three other Ramblers finished in double figures, with Patrick Mwamba (13), Miles Rubin (11) and Greg Dolan (10) all scoring 10 or more points. In total, all 15 Ramblers who dressed saw action, with 13-of-15 scoring at least two points.
 
Quoting Coach Valentine
"I think we got more comfortable [as the game went on] and guys started to settle in," said head coach Drew Valentine. "I thought, at first, that we were sped up and not doing the small things that we need to do. As guys got more settled in, I think you saw why I'm so excited about what this group can be."
 
How it Happened
The Ramblers jumped out to a quick 21-4 lead midway through the opening half behind the strong play of Alston who started the game 5-for-7 from the field to lead all scorers with 11 points. Eight different Ramblers scored over the first 13 minutes of action, including four newcomers to the program. Loyola ended the half scoring the final seven points to take a comfortable 56-25 lead into the half after shooting 65% from the field in the first 20 minutes.
 
Loyola opened the second half on a 19-2 run to build a 75-27 lead with 15:34 to play and would cruise for the remainder of the contest to pick up the 60-point victory.
 
News and Notes

• Loyola assisted on 27 of its 40 made field goals, with the tandem of Dolan and Braden Norris accounting for 16 of them. Norris finished with nine while Dolan had seven.
• Just over half (58-of-104) of Loyola's points Sunday came in the paint. Loyola outscored Trinity Christian in the paint, 58-4.
• Loyola's defense forced the Trolls to commit 23 turnovers while only committing 11 of their own. 

Up Next
Loyola officially opens the 2023-24 season on Wednesday, Nov. 8 when the Ramblers take on 10^th-ranked Florida Atlantic in the Barstool Sports Invitational, held at Wintrust Arena. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.