CHICAGO, Ill. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team could not recover from a late first-half run by Loyola-Chicago as the Tigers dropped a 80-64 decision to the Ramblers on Friday night at Gentile Arena.
 
Grambling State (1-2) tied the game at 25 with five minutes left in the first half, but trailed 40-29 at the break. Loyola-Chicago used a 14-0 run midway through the second half to put the game away.
 
Dallas Polk-Hilliard led the Tigers in scoring with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He added five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Ivy Smith, Jr. registered 10 points, six assists, three boards and two steals, while Devante Jackson recorded 10 points, a team-high eight rebounds and one steal.
 
Cameron Krutwig paced Loyola with 19 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, with seven rebounds, one block and one steal. Clayton Custer chipped in with 17 points, four assists, one steal and one rebounds, while Marques Towhes added 16 points, three assists, three boards and one steal. Cooper Kaifes tallied 10 points, two rebounds, two steals and one assist and Lucas Williamson led the way defensively with a game-high nine rebounds.
 
Turning Point
With the score tied at 25 after a 3-pointer by Dallas Polk-Hilliard with 5:19 remaining, the Ramblers used a 15-4 run to close out the first half with a 40-29 advantage.
 
Loyola pushed the margin to 45-29 after a layup by Cameron Krutwig early in the second half, but Grambling State did not go away quietly as the Tigers used a 12-2 run over a six-minute span to close the gap to 47-41 after Travon Bunch layup with 12:48 remaining.
 
The Ramblers quickly answered with a 14-0 run during the next two minutes to take a 61-41 advantage after a 3-pointer by Cooper Kaifes, with just over 10 minutes left.
 
The Tigers could not overcome the last Loyola run down the stretch in falling to the Ramblers.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Grambling State shot 42.6 percent (26-of-61) from the floor and 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the charity stripe
> Loyola-Chicago was 26-of-45 (57.8 percent) from the field and 21-of-30 (70.0 percent) from the foul line
> The Tigers registered 35 rebounds, with 26 coming off the defensive glass
> The Ramblers pulled down 30 rebounds, all coming on the defensive end
> Grambling State finished with 26 points in the paint, 24 bench points, 12 points off 14 Rambler turnovers, seven second-chance points and four fast-break points
> Loyola-Chicago tallied 34 points in the paint, 20 bench points, 20 points off 14 Tiger turnovers and four fast-break points
 
Up Next
Grambling State concluded the two-game road swing on Friday and returns home on Tuesday to face Champion Christian College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
 
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