Loyola’s first two possessions Saturday provided an omen to Indiana State of what was to come in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal.
After winning the opening tip, the top-seeded Ramblers (23-4) moved the ball in their half-court set and found guard Braden Norris for an open 3-pointer to kick off the scoring.
The No. 4 seed Sycamores (15-10) responded with a bucket of their own, but when they double-teamed center Cameron Krutwig in the post, Krutwig found Keith Clemons for another shot from behind the arc.
Loyola started 5 for 5 on 3-pointers, and with 11 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the No. 20 Ramblers were up 25-13 and never looked back.
Loyola led from wire-to-wire and dominated the Sycamores 65-49, putting the Ramblers one win away from their second MVC championship in four years.
“Lucas (Williamson) made a couple, Keith, Braden came out and made some shots,” Krutwig said. “We’ve kind of been in a little shooting slump the last three games leading up to here.
“Coaches kept giving our guys confidence saying ‘Hey man, we’re coming down to St. Louis to torch the nets.’ ”
Coach Porter Moser felt his team was playing tense in the run up to the MVC Tournament by trying to lock up a top seed and, as a result, struggling to shoot the ball. The Ramblers shot 40.9% from the field in their last three regular-season games.
But through two games in St. Louis the Ramblers are looking like the team they had been all season.
“I said it before we even played our first game here that the edge was a little bit off with that pressure,” Moser said.
On Friday against Southern Illinois, Loyola shot 47.4% from the field and 47.6% from behind the arc and maintained that rhythm Saturday.
All season, Loyola has boasted a balanced offense that moved the ball around and Krutwig — the MVC Player of the Year — was the catalyst as usual against the Sycamores. He finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. But the Ramblers spread the scoring wealth — every starter scored double-digit points except for Norris, who had nine.
“Krutwig gets that domino going,” Moser said. “He had like seven hockey assists where (the ball) came out, one more (pass), one more (pass), shot. That all started because Krutwig is getting the attention, double team, dig, and then we get it out and then our guys have spaced it and moved it.”
The first few minutes of the game were a seesaw affair that saw both teams hit their first three shots. But over the next seven minutes, Loyola went on a 20-7 run to extend its lead to 15. The Ramblers shot 15 for 28 in the first half, including 6 for 12 from deep.
In the second half, Loyola didn’t have nearly the same success shooting the ball — the Ramblers shot 43.5% from the field and 28.6% on 3-pointers. They still led 51-30 with just under 16 minutes remaining in the second half. The Sycamores made a small comeback and cut the lead to 55-42 with under 10 minutes to go, but the Ramblers’ stifling defense kept them at arms-length.
Indiana State’s Tyreke Key was the team’s leading scorer with 17.5 points per game this season and averaged 26.2 over his last five contests. Against Evansville on Friday, he scored the team’s final seven points and carried them to victory.
Loyola knew it had to limit Key’s scoring to stop the team’s offense overall.
“He’s one of the top scorers in the league and he always has been since he entered the Missouri Valley Conference,” Loyola forward Aher Uguak said. “We were guarding him (by) being physical and just keying on him… he’s a big part of our scout and he’s earned that respect.”
Williamson — the MVC’s Defensive Player of the Year — was up to the challenge and held Key to just 11 points on 4-for-13 shooting. The Sycamores shot 38.5% from the field and 33.3% on 3-point attempts.
The Ramblers were happy with the victory, but coaches and players made it clear they didn’t come to win one or two games, they came to win three. They await the winner of Drake-Missouri State for Sunday’s championship game.
“It’s great to win and, obviously, you never take one for granted, especially in March,” Krutwig said. “But you’ve got to move on and move past it because tomorrow comes quick.”
