Nov. 29, 2006

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CHICAGO - Visiting Saint Louis used a key 8-2 spurt midway through the second half to take the lead and held off a late Loyola push to earn a 67-64 victory over the Ramblers tonight at the Gentile Center. The loss ends Loyola's nine-game winning streak against non-Horizon League opponents and drops the Ramblers to 5-2 on the season. Saint Louis improves to 5-1 with the win.

After a J.R. Blount jumper gave the Ramblers a 38-32 lead three minutes into the second half, Loyola went cold from the and the Billikens were able to creep back into the game. A Dwayne Polk hoop tied the game at 38 and SLU actually took a two-point lead before a three-point play from Andy Polka pushed the Ramblers back in front, 43-42, at the under-12 minute media timeout. It was at this point that Saint Louis made its run, highlighted by consecutive three-pointers from Danny Brown and Kevin Lisch, to claim a 50-45 lead with just under nine minutes to play. Blake Schilb began to heat up on the offensive end to get the Ramblers back in the game, reeling off 11 straight LU points during one stretch of the half, and it was his three-pointer from the top of the key that helped Loyola regain the lead, 56-55, with 6:10 to play. However, Ian Vouyoukas answered with a traditional three-point play to put the Billikens back on top, setting up a frenzied final five minutes.

Vouyoukas hit two more clutch baskets later to give SLU a 64-60 lead at the 2:18 mark but Leon Young answered with a tough offensive rebound and put-back to draw the Ramblers within two. After Luke Meyer split a pair at the line, Majak Kou made it a one-point game (65-64) with a finger-roll in the lane with 52 seconds remaining. Schilb stole the ball from Tommie Liddell on the ensuing possession, but Loyola immediately turned it back over and the Ramblers were forced to foul with 13 ticks remaining. Kevin Lisch missed the front-end of a one-and-one opportunity and Blount was fouled on the drive with seven seconds on the clock. However, he too missed the front-end and Vouyoukas hit a pair from the line to make it a 67-64 game with five seconds left. Schilb's 25-footer over the 6-foot-10 Vouyoukas was just long at the buzzer.

Loyola opened the game strong and opened a 10-point lead (24-14) on a three-pointer from Tom Levin. A Blount free throw later restored LU's double-digit lead and the Ramblers, after the Billikens battled back to within two, scored the last four points of the period, including a Kou hoop at the horn, to take a 36-30 lead into intermission.

After a hot start, Loyola cooled off from the floor and shot just .333 (10-of-30) in the second half to finish at .375 for the game, a number which helped negate a 42-35 edge on the boards.

Schilb finished with a game-high 21 points to lead the Ramblers while Young added 14 points and eight rebounds. Kou (11 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots) also reached double figures. Lisch finished with 15 points to lead four Billikens in double figures with Vouyoukas chipping in with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Loyola opens Horizon League play this Saturday (Dec. 2) with a key game against UW-Green Bay at the Gentile Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.