DePaul and Loyola Go Toe-to-Toe in Wintrust Arena Showdown

Saturday, December 4

Chicago, Ill.

3:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

6-1,0-0Big East

Loyola Chicago

7-2,1-0MVC

Loyola Chicago

DePaul

DePaul and Loyola Go Toe-to-Toe in Wintrust Arena Showdown

12/4/2021 6:22:00 PM | MEN'S BASKETBALL

Box Score Box Score Postgame Notes Photo Gallery

Blue Demons come up short in 68-64 loss to Ramblers

CHICAGO - A Chicago college basketball classic took place at Wintrust Arena on Saturday afternoon as DePaul and Loyola traded shots before the Ramblers escaped the South Loop with a 68-64 decision over the Blue Demons. David Jones led all scorers with 19 points for DePaul.

Loyola hit eight of its first 10 attempts over the first six minutes of action. The Ramblers scored the first 13 points of the afternoon and held a 19-5 advantage before Nick Ongenda sank a 15-footer.

The Blue Demons didn't back down and withstood the early shot from the Ramblers. Behind Jones, Jalen Terry and Javon Freeman-Liberty, DePaul flipped the script and outscored Loyola by 20 points over the final 14 minutes of the first half to take a 37-31 lead at intermission.

WIth 6:37 left in the first half, a free throw by Lucas Williamson made the score 26-17 in favor of the visitors. On DePaul's next possession, Jones sparked a 10-point run that included an alley-oop dunk from Jones to Terry while two free throws by Freeman-Liberty gave the Blue Demons their first lead with 2:28 until intermission.

DePaul (6-1) held the lead for the first six minutes of the second half, but a nine-point run for Loyola ended with a 45-42 advantage for the Ramblers with 13 minutes left in the game.

The Blue Demons answered with five straight points to regain the lead before the Ramblers answered again with six consecutive points of their own. A layup by Chris Knight with just under 11 minutes left gave Loyola a 49-47 lead that the Ramblers wouldn't relinquish the rest of the afternoon.

DePaul made one final push and cut the deficit to two points on a Jones driving layup with 53 seconds left, but that was as close as the Blue Demons would get before the score settled at 68-64.

Jones added nine rebounds and two steals while Ongenda scored 11 points with four rebounds.

Loyola (7-2) was led by Lucas Williamson who finished with 15 points.

The Blue Demons return to Wintrust Arena to close out the season-opening eight-game homestand on Tuesday against Duquesne. Start time between the Blue Demons and Dukes is set for 7:30 p.m. on FS1 and WSCR (670 AM).