Loyola and UIC continue to learn the hard lessons about playing on the road in the Horizon League. The Ramblers had a 37-35 lead at halftime, but ultimately lost 83-63 to Detroit. It was Loyola's third straight loss and dropped the Ramblers to 3-7 overall in conference.
The Flames dropped a 79-43 decision to Wright State. UIC was down by 10 at halftime, but got blown out 45-19 during the second half for the lopsided margin. UIC's loss was its 7th straight and dropped the Flames to 1-9 in conference play.
A bit of analysis on both after the break. Also, a look at Chicago State's victory over Utah Valley last night. The Cougars finally got to play a Great West game at home and made good on it with a 43-41 victory.
Head coach Jim Whitesell mixed things up against the taller Titans and put John Benkoske into the starting lineup. Benkoske played 9 minutes and scored 2 points, grabbed 5 boards and committed 4 fouls. Terrance Hill
struggled from the free-throw line going 5-9, but otherwise he played a
very good game for Loyola with 20 points on 14 shots and 8 boards. Andy Polka was the only other player in double-figures. He scored 12 points and had 9 rebounds.
It should be noted that against the tall Detroit line freshman forward Ben Averkamp also struggled. He played 17 minutes and committed 4 fouls while scoring 4 points. Chase Simon scored 30 points for the Titans. 16 turnovers are what really plagued the Ramblers last night. Loyola - as a team - really needs to take care of the ball better and for some reason the Ramblers just haven't found a solution.
The Ramblers continue Horizon League play on Saturday with a game at Wright State. That game isn't going to be any easier as the Raiders are fighting for position in the top half of the conference.
UIC couldn't do much against Wright State. Robo Kreps keeps shooting - 15 shots - and scoring some points - 16 last night, but he's getting no help. He went 3-15 from the field, but made up for it by going 10-13 from the free throw line. Senior guard Chris Buchanan was also in double-figures, he scored 11 points in 31 minutes of action.
Wright State is one of the best defensive teams in the Horizon League and it showed as the Flames shot 10-50 (20%) from the field on Thursday night. 5 players scored in double-figures for the Raiders led by guards Vaughn Duggins and Troy Tabler who both had 14. UIC heads to Detroit to take on the Titans, the only team UIC has beaten during conference play this season. My guess is that Ray McCallum's bunch is going to want to deliver a message in that one at home.
And a wrap-up of last night's action wouldn't be complete without acknowledging the win by Chicago State. The Cougars broke a 9-game losing streak with the two-point victory. It was the second low-scoring affair these two teams have played. 3 players scored 35 of the Cougars' 43 points. Carl Montgomery had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Christian Wall led the team with 14 points and Kabangu Tshinga-Kasamba chipped in 10.
One positive sign from the game is that Montgomery, who had been plagued by foul trouble lately, was able to play 36 minutes and be very efficient. If he could cut down on the 5 turnovers he'd be a real force. Chicago State welcomes Houston Baptist and Texas-Pan American to Chicago next week.
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Tags: Chicago State, Loyola-Chicago, UIC
