CHICAGO – Loyola University Maryland men's basketball held host DePaul University to a season-low five 3-pointers and 20.8 percent from behind the arc, but the Blue Demons ended the Greyhounds' non-conference schedule with an 84-65 defeat at Wintrust Arena.
The Greyhounds (5-6 overall) head into Patriot League play on Thursday, January 2, with a 6 p.m. game at College of the Holy Cross.
Loyola used a 9-0 run midway through the first half to draw within a point, 13-12, on back-to-back layups by
Milos Ilic, and baskets by
Jordan Stiemke and
Jacob Theodosiou made it 18-16 with 8:58 to play in the first half. DePaul (9-4) stretched its lead back to as many as 21 before halftime with a 26-7 run to go up 44-23.
The Blue Demons' lead was 26 with 10:08 to go in the second before Theodosiou scored 10 in a row in less than three minutes for the Greyhounds. DePaul, however, kept pace with Loyola, and the lead expanded to 27, 80-53, at 5:54.
DePaul was just 5 of 24 (.208) from 3-point range after entering the game ranked No. 14 in NCAA Division I by shooting 40.1 percent in its first 12 games. The Blue Demons, however, took advantage of a 47-31 advantage in rebounding, scoring 24 points off 16 offensive rebounds.
Theodosiou finished one point off his career-high, tying for game-high honors with 22 points. He made 9 of 10 shots from the field in the game and 3 of 4 from behind the arc.
Milos Ilic battled foul trouble but scored 13 and had six rebounds.
Jordan Stiemke scored 10, while
Veljko Ilic had six points and six rebounds and
Goap Kodi scored six to go with three boards.
