Gamecenter: Princeton 57, Loyola University 68

Value City Arena – Columbia, OH	Boxscore

Keys to the Game
Key sequence	After Kyle Koncz’s three-pointer cut Loyola’s lead to just a single point early in the second half, a lid seemed to descend over the Princeton basket. On their next five possessions, the Tigers missed three layups and three three-pointers, as the Ramblers re-built their lead to nine. Layups by Koncz and Mike Strittmatter brought Princeton back to within 40-34 at the 12:09 mark, but Loyola scored the next six points to push the margin to double digits.
Key sign it was over	Strittmatter fouled Cortney Horton, who converted the layup and added a free throw for a three-point play that gave Loyola its largest lead of the night at 62-47 with under three minutes left.
Key performance	It came in a losing effort, but Strittmatter had a great game for the Tigers. The sophomore big man blew away his previous career high of seven points with a 17-point night off the bench to lead all scorers. Strittmatter shot 6 of 7 from the field and added a rebound and two assists in 25 minutes on the floor.
Key statistic	Loyola’s 33-14 edge in rebounding. The Ramblers dominated on the glass, rebounding at a 55.0-percent clip offensively, while holding the Tigers to just 18.5 percent on the offensive boards. Loyola scored 30 of its 68 points in the paint, and registered 12 points on second-chance opportunities.


Notes
–	Princeton’s matchup zone did a surpgreat job on Loyola star Blake Schlib. The preseason Wooden Award nominee averaged 19.1 points per game last year, but the Tigers held him to just six points on 3-of-9 shooting on the night. Unfortunately for Princeton, Schlib’s teammates shot a combined 21 of 32 (65.6 percent).

–	The Ramblers shredded Princeton’s defense to the tune of 68 points on 54 possessions, or 1.26 points per possession.

–	Loyola made as many free throws (15) as the Tigers attempted.

–	Princeton enjoyed a very good evening from three-point range, connecting on 9 of 21 attempts from distance (42.9 percent). Strittmatter hit all three of his atttempts, Noah Savage hit 2 of 3, and Koncz knocked down 3 of 6.

–	Joe Scott started a freshman backcourt tandem of Marcus Schroeder and Lincoln Gunn, who were high school teammates last season. Schroeder’s numbers don’t jump out at you, but he played all 40 minutes in his collegiate debut and made a strong showing, while Gunn logged 32 minutes. Their playing time came at the expense of Savage, who did not start and played just 13 minutes.

–	Princeton will face VMI, who lost to seventh-ranked Ohio State 107-69 in a first-round matchup. Tip time is scheduled for 2:15 pm on Saturday.

Basketball U.