CHICAGO, Ill. -- The visiting Indiana State Sycamores battled league preseason favorite Loyola close in the early moments of the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams but ISU went cold and the Ramblers went on a run which the Sycamores were not able to recover from before falling 79-44 inside Gentile Arena.

ISU fell to 8-5, 0-1 MVC while Loyola improved to 8-6, 1-0 MVC. ISU was looking to open MVC play with a road win for the first time since a 63-61 triumph over Illinois State on December 31, 2014.

Tyreke Key led the way for the Sycamores as leading scorer Jordan Barnes was held scoreless while battling an illness that forced him to miss the entire second half after playing 14 minutes before the half. Key finished with 21 points as he hit 9-of-13 of his field goal attempts. Overall, the Sycamores struggled from the field hitting 17-of-46 (37.0 percent) and were 1-of-12 from distance (8.3 percent).

Freshman Cooper Neese joined Key in double figures scoring as he tallied 10 points and led the way on the boards with six. The Sycamores were guilty of 13 turnovers which the Ramblers converted into 21 points.

Key's 3-pointer with nine minutes remaining extended the Sycamores' streak of games with a triple to 326 -- the third-longest active streak in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Key hit each of his first four shots in the contest and scored all eight of the Sycamores' points heading into the first media timeout as the contest was tied at eight with 13:58 remaining in the opening stanza. Out of the timeout, the Ramblers hit each of their next four shots while the Sycamores turned the ball over four times as part of a six minute scoring drought as a 15-0 Loyola run gave them a 23-8 advantage.

Kessinger ended the Rambler spurt with a wide open lay-up off the feed from Hughes with just over nine minutes on the clock to draw ISU within 23-10. He then poured in a dunk on the Sycamores' next possession but ISU would remain scoreless for the remainder of the period as Loyola used a 20-0 run and led it 46-12 as the teams went back into the locker room. Key led the Sycamores with eight points and four rebounds at the half.

As the two teams came out of the locker room, the Sycamores grabbed a defensive stop and Kessinger ended the Loyola run with a high banker that found the bottom of the net to cut the Rambler lead down to 46-14. Allante Holston hit a pair of free throws with just under 16 minutes to go which drew the Sycamores closer at 56-19. Cooper Neese drove to the rim for a lay-up as the clock ticked under the 13 minute mark and the Sycamores trailed 58-23.

Loyola was led by Aher Uguak who scored 19 points.

The Sycamores return home to face off against Bradley inside Hulman Center on Saturday, January 5. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. (ET) will be televised on ESPN3.