What went down: After winning the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season title outright Feb. 21, the Loyola men’s basketball team (25-5, 15-3) returned to Gentile Arena to take on Illinois State University Saturday afternoon. The Ramblers defeated the Redbirds 68-61 in front of a sold-out crowd of nearly 5,000 people.
How it happened: It was a back-and-forth first half, with eight ties and five lead changes before Loyola took a 33-28 lead going into the break. But, Illinois State stormed back in the second half, leading by as many as six points.