TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State basketball could not stymie the Loyola offensive attack as the Ramblers came away with a 64-56 victory at Human Center Saturday night -- ending ISU's 12-game homecourt streak.
 
Led by three double-digit scorers, the Ramblers extended their winning streak to nine games as they improved to 13-2 on the season and 4-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference. ISU fell to 8-8 on the season and 1-3 in Valley action.
 
First Half
Indiana State came out on fire against the Ramblers, jumping out to a 7-1 lead before extending that lead to 15-6 with 12:29 remaining in the first half. During the opening eight minutes, ISU's defense was smothering as the Trees held Loyola to under 30 percent shooting.
 
ISU used an 11-2 run to push its lead to 26-11 -- the biggest of the game before Loyola got their offense rolling thanks in part to Lucas Williamson who had 11 first-half points and helped Loyola close the gap to just three points at the break as ISU took a 33-30 lead into the locker room.
 
ISU was led by Cameron Henry in the first 20 minutes with 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Cooper Neese added five points.
 
The Sycamores shot 50 percent (14-28) in the first half while Loyola finished the half at 45.8 percent (11-24) and 5-for-14 from deep.
 
Second Half
Loyola continued to chip away at the lead in the second half, taking its first lead at 40-38 four minutes into play. After nearly a five-minute scoring drought by both squads, Kailex Stephens put ISU back in front with a corner 3-pointer off an assist from Xavier Bledson. Williamson extended the Rambler lead to four points at 49-45 with just over eight minutes to go with his fourth shot from deep.
 
Down five with under four minutes left, Bledson scored the next four points for ISU to pull the Sycamores within one point -- first on a post score then after striping LUC's Norris and scoring the layup to make it a 57-56 lead for Loyola with just 2:34 left. Zach Hobbs' tip-in with 1:56 fell just wide in what would have given the Sycamores their first lead since the 16-minute mark. Norris answered for Loyola with five-straight points to close out the game.
 
Inside the Stats

• The loss snapped a 12-game home winning streak for the Sycamores that dated back to the 2020-21 season.
• The Rambler outscored ISU 34-23 in the second half.
• Cameron Henry was the lone Sycamore to finish in double-figures with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
• Julian Larry scored eight points and led the Sycamores with six rebounds.
• The Ramblers won the rebounding battle 37-34, including five offensive rebounds for six points.
• Loyola's Williamson led all scorers with 17 while Marquise Kennedy added 15 for the Ramblers.
• Loyola finished 10-for-16 at the charity stripe while ISU shot 5-for-7.
• 18 of Loyola's 64 points came off 16 Sycamores turnovers.
• LUC won the transition battle with a 10-1 advantage on the fast break.

UP NEXT
The Sycamores continue MVC action next Wednesday, Jan. 19 with a trip to Southern Illinois. Tipoff with the Salukis is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET from Banterra Center on ESPN Plus.
 
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