Panthers Drop Road Contest at Loyola, 76-67

Saturday, December 16

Chicago, Ill.

7:00 PM

University of Northern Iowa

Loyola Chicago

Panthers Drop Road Contest at Loyola, 76-67

12/16/2006 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

By: UNI Athletics Communications

Dec. 16, 2006

Final Stats

CHICAGO -- Blake Schilb led all players with 22 points, leading Loyola to a 76-67 win over the University of Northern Iowa Saturday night at the Gentile Center.

Brooks McKowen (Fairbank, Iowa) led the Panthers in scoring with 18 points, hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field. Eric Coleman (Maplewood, Minn.) had his fifth straight double-double, scoring 12 points and tying his career-high with 15 rebounds. Travis Brown (Richfield, Minn.) also was in double figures with 10 points for UNI.

The Panthers only led twice. McKowen hit a three for the game's opening basket, and after Loyola tied it with a three of its own, Brown hit two free throws for a 5-3 UNI lead. The Ramblers then went on a 12-0 run, with Schilb scoring seven points, to open a 15-5 advantage.

UNI pulled to within three on several occasions in the first half, including as late as 25-22 with 5:02 left. But each time the Panthers made a push, the Ramblers answered, and were able to extend their lead back to seven, 34-27, at halftime. Schilb had 15 of his 22 points in the first half. After starting forward Grant Stout (New Sharon, Iowa) picked up two early fouls, Panthers freshman Adam Koch (Ashwaubenon, Wis.) provided a spark off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing five rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.

Early in the second half, the Panthers were able cut Loyola's lead to 40-36 on a fastbreak layup by Coleman, but Majak Kou answered with a deep three to push the Ramblers' lead back to seven. Kwadzo Ahelegbe (Oakdale, Minn.) hit a short jumper from the right side to get UNI back within five, but the Ramblers rattled off six straight points to push their advantage back to 49-38 with 12:56 left.

The Panthers were able to stay within striking distance, and a Brown layup pulled UNI within six, 56-50, with just over five minutes to go. But that was as close as the Panthers would get, as J.R. Blount scored five of Loyola's next seven points as the Ramblers built their lead back to 63-51. The Ramblers hit 11 of 14 free throws in the game's final minutes to seal the win.

Loyola connected on 46 percent of its shots for the game, including 54 percent in the second half. UNI connected on 43 percent of its shots. The Ramblers enjoyed a sizeable advantage at the free throw line, making 24-of-33 at the charity stripe, while the Panthers were just 10-of-17.

UNI dropped to 8-2 win the loss, and had its six-game winning streak snapped. Loyola improved to 8-3 with the win. The Panthers next game is Wed., Dec. 20, when they host Wartburg at the McLeod Center. Tipoff is 7:05 p.m.