NEWARK, N.J. – Loyola University Maryland men's basketball held host NJIT to just 24 second-half points on Tuesday, and the Greyhounds won their first road game of the season, 68-50, over the Highlanders in Bloom Wellness & Events Center.
Jordan Stiemke scored a season-high 15 points, ad
Milos Ilic had 11 of his 13 points in the second half for Loyola.
NJIT cut Loyola's 29-26 halftime lead to one with a Tim Moore dunk 23 seconds into the second half, but Ilic came back with a three just 11 ticks of the clock later.
Ilic then had the next four Loyola points, wrapped around four from NJIT, and the lead was four, 36-32, with 17:00 left in regulation.
His twin broter,
Veljko Ilic grabbed an offensive board and scored at 15:33 to make it 40-34, Loyola, , and then Stiemke knocked down threes on consecutive possessions, the second off a
Jacob Theodosiou transition assist with 13:55 on the clock, and Loyola was up 12, 46-34.
After a NJIT timeout, Tariq Francis made a three for the Highlanders at 12:29, but
Chris Kuzemka answered in kind for Loyola, and
Braeden Speed had a transition layup to push the lead to 14, 51-37, with 11:37 left.
Less than six minutes later, Loyola pushed the advantage to 21 points with a
Milos Ilic layup from a
David Brown III assist to drive the score to 61-40 at 5:44. The Greyhounds were up by 20 or more for the rest of the game.
Seven Greyhounds had six or more points, and they led wire-to-wire without trailing.
Brown added nine points and seven rebounds, while
Tyson Commander scored seven and had four boards. Speed, Kuzemka and
Veljko Ilic each scored six for Loyola.
Theodosiou grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead all players and help Loyola to a 39-31 lead on the glass.
Loyola forced 15 NJIT turnovers, and the Highlanders shot just 38.9 percent from the field and 16.7 from 3-point range. Francis led NJIT with 17 points, but he was the only Highlanders player with more than six.
The Greyhounds continue their three-game road trip on Saturday, November 16, with a 7 p.m. game in Richmond, Virginia at VCU. The game will air live in the Baltimore area on MASN.
Gallery: (11-12-2024) Men's Basketball at NJIT
