CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago won its 15
th consecutive home opener Saturday with a 24-point win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers. The Ramblers were led by
Des Watson who poured in a career-high 24 points. He was 8-of-11 from the field and hit 6-of-8 from three-point range.
As a unit, Loyola shot over 59 percent from the field and drained 12 threes.
With the win, Loyola improves to 1-1 on the year.
"Tonight was all about how hard we were going to compete and how much we were going to care every possession," said head coach
Drew Valentine. "I was really pleased with a lot of what I saw. I'm really just looking forward to seeing how good this group can be because that felt like coaching Loyola Chicago."
How It Happened
The Panthers opened the game with a second chance put-back, but it was all Ramblers after the first bucket.
Miles Rubin score dour straight to swing the lead for Loyola and never looked back.
With just over 13:37 to play in the first,
Greg Dolan hit a wide-open three for Loyola's first double-figure lead of the game.
Tom Welch capped a 7-0 run blowing the lead open to 19 with under eight to go. The Ramblers would extend their lead to 23 with a three-pointer from
Sheldon Edwards. Loyola was up 48-25 at the half.
Patrick Mwamba kept the momentum going in the second half scoring all 11 of his points in the final 20 minutes. He hit a three with 12:20 on the clock and a pair from the line less than a minute to blow open the lead to 34 points.
Watson shot from deep at the 7:50 mark gave the Ramblers their largest lead yet at 37. EIU hit three from the arc in the final 2:30, but it couldn't make a dent in Loyola's 89-65 win.
Inside the Box Score
- The win marks Loyola's 15
th straight home opening victory.
- In addition to his career-high, Watson added three boards, two assists and a block.
- Dolan and Mwamba also scored double-figures. Dolan put up 12 points, four rebounds, two assists, and a block. Mwamba added 11 points, two boards, two assists, a steal and block.
- The Ramblers blocked nine shots and were led by
Miles Rubin with four. Rubin also grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds.
-
Braden Norris created a lot of opportunity for his teammates with seven of the team's 23 assists.
Up Next
It's a crosstown clash next week with the Ramblers welcoming the UIC Flames. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday in Gentile Arena.
