MVC champ Loyola Chicago holds off N Iowa 54-50 in quarters

Mar 2, 2018, 10:40 pm

ST. LOUIS -- Donte Ingram had 13 points and eight rebounds, Marques Townes had 13 points and the game-clinching free throw with 2.3 seconds remaining and top-seeded Loyola Chicago held off ninth-seeded Northern Iowa 54-50 on Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament quarterfinals.

Ingram's layup with 57.7 seconds to go had the Ramblers (26-5), who have their most wins since the 1948-49 team went 26-9, up 51-43. A putback by Klint Carlson at 48.1 seconds and a 3-pointer from the right wing by Wyatt Lohaus after Loyola missed the front end of a one-and-one, made it 51-48 with 30 seconds left.

Loyola again missed a free throw but UNI missed a 3-pointer before freshman Lucas Williamson got his only points of the game with two free throws at 10.8 seconds. Tywhon Pickford scored on a putback for Northern Iowa before Townes iced it.

Loyola, on a season-best eight-game winning streak, faces fifth-seeded Bradley in the semifinals on Saturday.

Bennett Koch scored 20 points for Northern Iowa (16-16).