LOYOLA ON TO MVC QUARTERFINALS
Freshman Jacob Hutson had 13 points and Lucas Williamson and Braden Norris each added 11 and No. 20 Loyola earned a 73-49 win over Southern Illinois on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
No. 20 Loyola 73, Southern Illinois 49
Loyola (22-4) opened the game on a 10-0 run before Anthony D’Avanzo scored the Salukis’ first basket 5:23 into the game.
“We always talk about wanting to set the tone early,” Williamson said. “We always want to hang our hat on defense. It just sets the tone for the rest of the game.”
Hutson had never scored more than four points against a Division I opponent prior to this game.
“We have a lot of confidence in him,“Loyola coach Porter Moser said. “That kid’s development from the beginning of the year to this year is really, really great to see and well needed.”
The Ramblers have won three straight games against Southern Illinois (12-14) after sweeping a two-game set in Chicago to close out the regular season.
The Salukis were playing without guard Lance Jones, who was injured in the first half of Thursday night’s game against Bradley. Marcus Domask, the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2020, also missed the final 16 games with a left foot injury.
Loyola will play Indiana State in today’s semifinals. Indiana State defeated Evansville 53-43 in another quarterfinal.
Drake advanced in another quarterfinal matchup that had to be canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Northern Iowa program.
Atlantic Sun
Liberty 77, Stetson 64: Chris Parker scored 16 points and Blake Preston had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Liberty to a win over Stetson in the semifinals.
Liberty (22-5) will receive the conference’s automatic berth after North Alabama defeated Florida Gulf Coast 96-81 in the other semifinal. North Alabama is not eligible for the conference championship this season.
Mountain West
Colorado State 85, Nevada 82: Grant Sherfield hit a step-back 3-pointer with a second remaining as host Nevada (15-9, 10-7) won a back-and-forth game. The Rams’ Isaiah Stevens then hit a shot near the buzzer, but was ruled out of bounds before he got it off, which likely came after the buzzer anyway. CSU (17-5, 14-4) took a hit to its at-large hopes.