WEST POINT, N.Y. – Loyola University Maryland scored the game's first eight points, built a 15-point lead less than seven minutes in and then held off the U.S. Military Academy down the stretch for a 67-63 victory Wednesday evening in the Patriot League Semifinals at Christl Arena.
 
With the win, the Greyhounds will play in the Patriot League Championship Game for the first time, matching up against Colgate University on Sunday, March 14, at 12 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. Loyola will vie for its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2012.
 
Santi Aldama scored a career-high 33 points and had his ninth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Cam Spencer scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds, both season-highs.
 
Aldama made 13 of 15 shots from the field, 5 of 6 from 3-point range. His 86.7 percent from the field on Wednesday is the second-best outing by a Loyola player with 10 or more made field goals. The 13 field goals made set a Patriot League record for makes in a semifinal game.
 
Spencer, meanwhile made 6 of 10 shots, 3 of 4 from behind the arc, as Loyola shot 50 percent (26 of 52) for the game.
 
An Aldama putback 1:41 into the second half gave Loyola a 46-27 lead, its largest of the game, but over the next four minutes, Army scored nine in a row to cut the deficit to 10 before Aldama made a three at 13:52. Spencer then knocked down a three on the next Greyhounds possession – each was assisted by Kenneth Jones – and Loyola was back up 16, 52-36.
 
Army West Point, however, quickly got the margin back to 10 by scoring the next six points, and a Josh Caldwell transition basket and free throw at 6:06, slimming the deficit to 56-51.
 
Again, it was an Aldama three at 5:22 that helped push the lead wider, but two Jalen Rucker free throws at 3:32 brought the Black Knights within four, the closest they had been since the game's first minute.
 
Jaylin Andrews made two free throws 14 seconds later, and it was a six-point Loyola advantage, 63-57, but Rucker scored in the paint, and Caldwell tallied another pair off a Loyola turnover. With that basket, it was a 63-61 Loyola lead with 91 ticks on the clock.
 
Aldama was fouled, but he missed the front end of one-and-one to tie or take the lead at 1:13, and Army West Point had a chance to tie or take the lead. Rucker's attempt from 10 feet rimmed out, and Aldama grabbed the rebound. After crossing midcourt, the Greyhounds called a timeout.
 
With the shot clock below 10, Jones found Aldama for a layup, and the Greyhounds were up four, 65-61, with 24 seconds remaining. Lonnie Grayson quickly fired a three from the right side that missed everything, but it fell right into Caldwell's hands for an easy putback with 15 seconds on the clock. Caldwell was fouled, but he missed the free throw, and Aldama pulled down his 13^th rebound.
 
He threw a pass to Spencer in front of the Black Knights' bench where he was trapped. Aldama, however, leaked out to catch a pass at midcourt from Spencer. He would take it in for a dunk to seal the win.
 
In addition to the combined 49 from Aldama and Spencer, Andrews and Jones each scored six points. Jones had a game- and season-high five assists.
 
The Greyhounds enjoyed a 38-27 rebounding advantage, too, in the game. Aldama and Spencer combined for 19, Golden Dike grabbed six and Andrews had five.
 
Loyola made a season-high 10 3-pointers, including four of their first five as it took a 19-5 lead early.