Men's Basketball

Arch Madness Game 7: Loyola 65, Indiana State 49

ST. LOUIS- Known as “King Krut,” Loyola center and 2021 Missouri Valley Conference MVP Cameron Krutwig added polish to his crown with 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots to lead the top seeded and  No. 20-ranked Ramblers to a 65-49 win over Indiana State Saturday in the first semifinal of the 2021 MVC Tournament at Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

Krutwig’s earned his 21st career double-double and his fourth this season leading LUC to its fifth straight win and 15th in its last 16 games.

Loyola, 23-4, moves on to meet the winner of Saturday’s 3:05 p.m. second semifinal between No. 2 seed Drake and No. 3 seed Missouri State in Sunday’s 1:10 p.m. championship game. The Ramblers have a six-game winning streak and have won 16 of 17 since a loss to Indiana State Jan. 11 in Terre Haute. LUC’s only previous Valley Tournament title was in 2018, the year it advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Jake Laravia led Indiana State, 16-10, with 13 points. The Sycamores had won 11 of their last 13 games, including delivering one of LUC’s two league losses. The Ramblers, the nation’s No. 1 defensive team, allow just 55.7 points per game and has allowed just 50.8 points per game in its last six Arch Madness wins.

The offenses started fast as both teams scored on their first three possessions, with a pair of 3-pointers giving LUC an 8-6 lead in the first three minutes. But the Ramblers poured it on over the next seven minutes with a 20-5 blitz to take a 28-13 lead with 10-38 remaining, hitting 6-7 3-pointers to start the game.

Indiana State switched to a zone defense at the 10-minute mark, getting three straight stops and cutting the lead to 28-17 before a Lucas Williamson bucket-and-one, two Krutwig free throws and a layup by Marquise Kennedy extended the LUC lead to 35-17.

Tyreke Key’s two free throws and jumper cut the LUC halftime lead to 42-28, but the Ramblers rode two 3-pointers by Williamson and holding Indiana State to just one bucket in its first nine shots from the field in the second half to open a 51-30 lead with 15:56 remaining.

ack to back baskets by Cameron Bacote got the Sycamores within 13 points with 9:39 left, but Krutwig scored on three straight possessions inside to extend the Rambler lead back to 19 at 61-42 with 7:40 remaining. The teams combined for just 11 points in the final seven minutes.

Loyola is the 20th No. 1 seed to reach the finals in 31 editions of Arch Madness (and the first since Loyola in 2018). Top seeds have won nine previous Arch Madness tournaments. In 44 total Valley Tournaments, the No. 1 seeds have won 15 times.