Youngstown State, Loyola, Milwaukee Capture Saturday Wins

Loyola opened a renovated Gentile Arena in grand fashion, while Youngstown State and Milwaukee had to sweat for wins that bookended Horizon League play on Saturday.

Loyola 64, Fordham 50
After nearly a month on the road, Loyola christened a renovated Gentile Arena appropriately, besting Fordham, 64-50, on Saturday afternoon.

Loyola (1-4) was led by Denzel Brito, who continued his strong play with his first career double-double, scoring 11 points while handing out 10 assists. Brito and Ben Averkamp helped the Ramblers get off to a quick start in the home opener as Loyola scored the first eight points of the game and built a 15-3 advantage before having to stave off several Fordham runs.

A Brito three in the second half ingited an 11-4 Loyola burst, turning a three-point lead into a 47-37 advantage; the Ramblers held Fordham to just one field goal in the final 8:38 to seal the result.

Joe Crisman led the Ramblers with 14 points, while Averkamp added 13 to supplement Brito's career performance.

Youngstown State 60, St. Francis (Pa.) 59
DuShawn Brooks did a little bit of everything for Youngstown State, leading the Penguins to a 60-59 road win over St. Francis on Saturday afternoon.

With two minutes left in the game, Brooks hit his first three-pointer of the season, putting Youngstown State (4-1) ahead, 60-56. St. Francis would counter with a three of its own, but the Penguin defense would buckle down in the closing moments, once again led by Brooks.

In both of St. Francis' final possessions, Brooks came up with blocks to thwart scoring opportunities. On the day, Brooks had three blocks, matching teammate Damian Eargle. YSU had seven in the game.

Youngstown State battled out of an early 17-6 hole, as Kendrick Perry, Blake Allen and Cale Zuicker took turns hitting jumpers and threes to give the Penguins a 33-30 lead before the teams went into the half knotted at 33. Perry led the 'Guins with 12 points.

Milwaukee 59, Arkansas-Little Rock 54
Milwaukee had to work throughout the evening, but perseverance (and defense) paid off as the Panthers collected a 59-54 win over Arkansas-Little Rock at the Jack Stephens Center.

Milwaukee (5-1) hit just six baskets from inside the three-point arc, but used 12 three-pointers and a stifling defense to wrest control of the game late. James Haarsma was the load bearer for the Panthers, scoring the team's final nine points of the game and leading the Panthers with 17 points.

After a three-point play with 2:08 remaining put Milwaukee up, 52-50, Haarsma would come through with two more baskets to help the Panthers seal the result. Kyle Kelm added 11 points and eight boards, while Kaylon Williams chipped in seven assists and eight points.

Milwaukee limited UALR to 34.6-percent shooting in the game and just a 9-of-30 effort in the second half, enabling the Panthers to rally late.

Hofstra 63, #rv/rv Cleveland State 53
A 14-2 run midway through the second half enabled Hofstra to hand Cleveland State its first defeat of the season, 63-53, in the Vikings' second game of the Ticket City Legends Classic subregional in Kingston, R.I.

D'Aundray Brown put Cleveland State (5-1) ahead, 42-37, with 13:48 to play after a reverse layup, but Hofstra would then start the game-changing spurt over the next four minutes. Down seven after the Pride's run, the Vikings could not muster another comeback after stunning Boston University the day prior.

In Friday's win, Cleveland State was whistled for 30 fouls; the whistle continued to be a problem for the Vikings on Saturday, as they were called for 29 fouls. Hofstra outshot the Vikings at the free throw line, 20-of-31 to 7-of-11.

Akron 81, Detroit 63
Detroit led by seven early in the second half, but Akron erased the deficit with a 14-2 run en route to an 81-63 victory at Rhodes Arena.

Playing with just eight for the second straight game, Detroit's (3-4) offense sputtered, with Chase Simon providing the lion's share of points, tallying 27 on the night. Down just three with 2:37 left in the first half, the Titans saw Akron score the final eight points of the half to take an 11-point advantage into the locker room.

A Simon three brought Detroit within eight points early in the second half, but the Titans would draw no closer over the game's final 13 minutes.

Charlotte 70, Wright State 66
Wright State could not quite get over the hump against visiting Charlotte, falling 70-66 despite a game effort at the Nutter Center.

Charlotte shot 66.7-percent in the second half to hold Wright State (2-4) at arm's length over the final 20 minutes. The Raiders nearly overcame a nine-point deficit in the final 7:15, but the Raiders never got a chance at a game-tying field goal as Charlotte hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the result.

Once again, Julius Mays led Wright State in scoring, knocking down 5-of-9 attempts from three-point range to score a game-high 25 points. Cole Darling was the other Raider in double figures, finishing with 12.

Toledo 82, UIC 67
UIC suffered through a 29-percent shooting first half, and by the time the Flames recovered, it was too little, too late in an 82-67 loss to Toledo at Savage Arena.

Hayden Humes, in his return to Toledo, collected a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds to lead UIC (2-3).

Still, UIC's shooting woes in the first half left them a 20-point hole from which to dig out over the game's final 20 minutes. A Jerome Brown three brought the Flames within 13 with 4:20 to play, but UIC would draw no closer until the dying stages of play. Gary Talton was the only other UIC player to reach double digits, scoring 10 points.