SPRINGFIELD – Visiting Loyola shut down Missouri State’s offense for the final 10 minutes and used a 20-point effort from Devon Turk to cruise to a 75-62 win over the Bears on Sunday at JQH Arena.
Montel James added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Ramblers (14-14, 7-9 MVC) who halted MSU’s three-game home win streak. Milton Doyle also contributed 12 off the bench for LUC.
Missouri State (11-17, 7-9) got 16 points from Dequon Miller and 12 from Camyn Boone.
With its fourth win in five games, Loyola forced a three-way tie for the coveted sixth position in the MVC standings between the Ramblers, Missouri State and Indiana State.
MSU led by as many as six in the first half and quickly erased a one-point halftime deficit with a 5-0 outburst to start the second period. A bucket by Boone off the glass and a 3-pointer by Chris Kendrix in the first minute gave the home side a 36-32 lead.
Loyola responded with 3-pointers by Ben Richardson and Turk to tie the game and then got a free throw by James before the first media break to push ahead 39-38.
The Bears would never lead again, despite getting within two points of the Ramblers three times before the 14-minute mark. But after Jarred Dixon’s floater at the 14:47 mark, Loyola ripped off six unanswered points to gain a 51-43 advantage. Dixon came to the rescue again with a 3-point play with just over 10 minutes to play that made it a 53-49 game, but Missouri State would go the next six minutes without a field goal while the visitors pushed ahead by as many as 16 points.
“At home, I feel like we’ve been able to dig down and find another gear all year long,” said MSU head coach Paul Lusk. “We couldn’t find that extra gear today. The turning point was their 3-pointers in transition, too many turnovers and missed free throws.”
Loyola finished 9-for-21 (.429) from 3-point range and scored 14 points off 14 Missouri State turnovers. The Bears were also out-rebounded by a 34-31 margin and missed 9 free throws to finish 13-for-22 (.591) at the stripe.
The Bears were 23-for-52 (.442) from the field and managed just three 3-pointers, shooting 27 percent from long range. Missouri State made just one trey after Miller dropped in a pair of long bombs in the first six minutes of the game.
Just four of Missouri State’s turnovers were off of Loyola steals.
The Ramblers finished at 44.8 percent from the field on 26-of-58 shots, and James made 10-of-12 at the foul line to help the team convert 14-of-21 (.667) on the night.
In the first half, MSU overcame an early 11-0 run by the Ramblers and recaptured the lead on a jumper by Miller at the 11:39 mark. From there, there were five more lead changes and three ties before a pair of foul shots by James at the end of the stanza gave LUC a 32-31 lead at the midway point.
