BALTIMORE – All five Loyola University Maryland starters scored in double figures, and
Milos Ilic had his second career double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, but Columbia came back for an 81-78 non-conference victory in Reitz Arena.
Jacob Theodosiou and
Braeden Speed made their Loyola debuts with 14 and 13 points, respectively, while
David Brown III and
Jordan Stiemke each scored 10.
Veljko Ilic nearly made it six players in double figures, finishing with nine points.
The Greyhounds led by as many as 13 points in the first half, but the the gap was six, 41-35, at halftime.
Ilic's basket in the paint with 13:18 to go in the second half put Loyola back in front by nine, 57-48.
Brown scored off an Ilic feed with 7:31 to go in regulation, and a
Chris Kuzemka free throw with 6:51 on the clock turned it into a 68-56 Greyhounds advantage with 6:51 on the clock.
Columbia, however, scored the next seven points and trimmed the Loyola lead to five on a pair of Geronimo Rubio de la Rosa free throws at 5:58.
Veljko Ilic came back with two free throws for Loyola less than 20 seconds later, and the advantage was seven, 70-63.
The Lions again went on a mini-run, scoring six in the row and were within one off two Kenny Noland free throws with 3:49 to play.
Milos Ilic moved the margin back to three with a fading layup 22 seconds later, but Avery Brown came back for Columbia and made two free throws of his own.
Theodosiou pulled up in the paint and hit a jumper with 2:35 left, and the Greyhounds were up by four once again, 76-72.
Brown again was fouled and made two at the line for Columbia at the 2:29 mark, and he scored in the paint after an offensive rebound by the Lions with 1:31 remaining, tying the game at 76-76.
Rubio de la Rosa put Columbia in front with a driving layup with 51 ticks left on the clock, and the 78-76 lead was the Lions' first since just over 12 minutes remained in the first half. Noland a free throw to drop with 25 second left, and the lead was four for the Lions.
Theodosiou drove down the middle of the lane and scored at the rim 14 seconds later to cut the lead to a pair with 12 ticks to play. Loyola fouled Noland quickly, and he missed the second of two shots with the Columbia lead at three. The Greyhounds had two 3-point attempts go off the mark, and Columbia held on for the win in regulation.
Loyola controlled a 35-31 advantage on the boards led by
Milos Ilic's 11. Theodosiou had six, and both Stiemke and Brown grabbed four. Stiemke had three steals in the game, and Brown led Loyola with three assists.
The Greyhounds will be back in Reitz Arena on Saturday, November 9, with a 7:30 p.m. game against Lancaster Bible College.
