It’s on the schedule as a Horizon League game, but it was more like a neighborhood scrap Saturday night as the bragging rights went to Illinois-Chicago with its 83-69 victory over Loyola at UIC Pavilion.
UIC (5-2, 1-0), pulling away from a 50-50 deadlock and a Ramblers squad that refused to go away despite repeated Flames runs, won its sixth in the last seven against Loyola (4-5, 0-1), the last four in a row.
“It’s like the playoffs anywhere else,” said Loyola guard Justin Cerasoli, who led all scorers with 24. “Things always go up another level. But it seems like they have our number right now.”
UIC wore down Loyola with five players scoring in double figures, topped by guard Josh Mayo’s 22. Scott VanderMeer added 18 and dominated with 14 rebounds, 10 on the offensive glass that contributed to UIC’s 22 second-chance points.
“It’s a conference game, it’s crosstown and, for the most part, we all know each other,” UIC coach Jimmy Collins said.
From 50-50 with 11 minutes to play, the Flames went on an 8-1 run and grabbed a lead they did not relinquish. Loyola, which had a one-point lead early in the half, got as close as three points but was hurt by several turnovers over the final five minutes. The Ramblers also gave up three-pointers to guard Robo Kreps and forward Tori Boyd.
“We lost to a very good team on their court,” Loyola coach Jim Whitesell said.
There were four ties and six lead changes in the first 14 minutes of the first half. The Ramblers led by three with eight minutes to play in the first before the combination of inside power from the 7-foot VanderMeer and guard scoring from Mayo powered a kick of nine straight points and 15-3 total burst that left Loyola reeling.
The Flames collected 10 points off second-chances in the first half, due in no small part to VanderMeer’s five offensive rebounds. Mayo, who dropped in 8 of 10 three-pointers in a victory Wednesday night at Vanderbilt, continued the deadly long-range launches with 4 of 5 in the first half.
Loyola was buoyed by a buzzer-beating half-court heave by Cerasoli, who had 10 points in the first half, to leave the Ramblers down 37-31.
“I felt like it gave us some momentum going in at halftime,” Cerasoli said.
