INDIANAPOLIS -- Both of the Horizon League's unbeaten teams remained that way after wins on Saturday, joining four other League squads in collecting victories on the day.
Taking its 6-0 record across the country for a meeting of Jesuit schools, Loyola improved to 7-0 after gutting out a 63-62 win over San Francisco. Geoff McCammon matched his career high with 26 points and Terrance Hill knocked down the game-winning free throws with 10 seconds left as the Ramblers gave head coach Jim Whitesell his 100th win with Loyola.
The Ramblers overcame a 13-point halftime deficit, eventually taking their first lead of the game on two Ben Averkamp free throws with just under five minutes to play as Loyola traded the lead with the Dons down the stretch, setting the stage for Hill's free throws.
The Horizon League's second unbeaten team, Cleveland State needed no last-minute heroics, locking defensively in a 69-51 victory over St. Bonaventure at the Wolstein Center. With the Bonnies focused on stopping the Horizon League's leading scorer in Norris Cole, Jeremy Montgomery poured in 18 points, while Aaron Pogue added 14.
A cold-shooting first half left the Vikings ahead by just one point at the half, but Cleveland State came out of the locker room and shot at a 44-percent clip in the game's final 20 minutes, mixing the improved offense with stifling defense, holding the Vikings without a basket over a 5:23 stretch.
Valparaiso claimed the Upper Division Championship of the Las Vegas Invitational, knocking off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 68-62, at Orleans Arena. Leading for the game's final 18 minutes, the Crusaders sealed the win with a 6-for-6 effort from the free-throw line; for the game, Valparaiso hit 23-of-28 free-throw attempts to aid the victory.
Howard Little finished on the All-Tournament Team, posting 13 points and eight rebounds in the victory. Limited to just 14 minutes on Friday, Cory Johnson scored a game-high 18 points, knocking down 5-of-10 field goals on Saturday to lead the Crusaders.
Vytas Sulskis joined the Youngstown State 1,000-point club in the Penguins' 91-63 win over St. Francis (Pa.), scoring a game-high 22 points. Kendrick Perry added a career-best 19, while Devonte Maymon had 15 for Youngstown State, who won its fourth straight home contest, improving to 4-1 on the season.
In just 25 minutes, Sulskis connected on 7-of-10 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws, going above the 20-point mark for the third straight game.
Eli Holman posted his second double-double in as many nights as the Detroit evened its record at 3-3 with a 71-62 win over Bowling Green in the Legends Classic. Holman finished the night with 13 points and 12 boards, collecting his fourth double-double in six games this year.
All five starters finished in double figures, as Nick Minnerath led the Titans with 14 points. Chase Simon and Ray McCallum each posted 12 points, while Jason Calliste added 11.
Green Bay staged a furious comeback, knocking off North Dakota State, 71-69, on Bryquis Perine's bucket with nine seconds to play at the Resch Center.
The Phoenix trailed, 61-52, with 7:31 to play before Perine led Green Bay, scoring 12 points to lead a 19-8 closing run. Prior to Perine's heroics, Rahmon Fletcher carried Green Bay, scoring a season-high 24 points despite playing only 14 seconds over the game's final 10:43.
At Hinkle Fieldhouse, #23 Butler dropped a 71-68 overtime contest to former Midwestern Collegiate Conference rival Evansville. The Bulldogs led by 10 points in the second half, but could not hold on as the Purple Aces tied the game midway through the second half, eventually leading to overtime.
Matt Howard finished with his third consecutive double-double, tallying 19 points and 13 rebounds. Shelvin Mack joined Butler's 1,000-point club during the game in posting 13 points to move to 1,004 points in his career.
N'Gai Evans, in his first two games of the season with the Raiders, earned All-Tournament Team honors at the Chicago Invitational Challenge, but Wright State fell to Southern Illinois, 56-50, on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders struggled offensively throughout the game, hitting just 21.6-percent of their field-goal attempts on the game.
Evans led Wright State with 11 points a day after posting 24. Both Troy Tabler and Vaughn Duggins finished with 10.
Milwaukee trailed by as much as 18 to in-city rival Marquette, but battled back and had chances to tie and/or take the lead late in a 75-72 loss to the Golden Eagles at U.S. Cellular Arena.
Down 11 with 3:46 to play, the Panthers used a 9-0 burst to close within a single possession with 51 ticks left on the clock, but Marquette knocked down its free throws down the stretch to keep Milwaukee at bay.
Ja'Rob McCallum came off the bench to lead the Panthers with 19 points, while Anthony Hill added 18. Tony Meier and Kaylon Williams gave Milwaukee four players in double figures, finishing with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
