Nov. 8, 2013

Box Score

CHICAGO - Jeff White scored 23 points and Milton Doyle added 18, all in the second half, as Loyola beat the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 76-72, Friday night at the Gentile Center.

Matt Tiby had 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Panthers, who could not overcome one final late surge by the Ramblers.

Kyle Kelm added 13 points and Austin Arians 11 off the bench for Milwaukee, which was hampered by 18 turnovers and 33-17 deficit in free throw attempts.

Loyola used a 20-7 run to turn a 59-57 deficit into a 73-64 lead and then hung on for the season-opening win.

"We still had opportunities to win this game," Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter said. "I think the thing that jumps out to me is that they shot twice as many free throws. We have to be that team. Points off turnovers hurt us, and 18 turnovers is just way too many. But, for our first time out, with a lot of new faces, what I liked to see is that with some of the ups and downs we went through, we seemed to battle back. Now we need to figure out ways not to hurt ourselves that keep us from getting the result that we want."

The night was highlighted by the stellar debut of Tiby, who along with playing well inside knocked down a pair of three-pointers and went a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line.

"I had fun. I've been waiting for this for a year-and-a-half," Tiby said. "I love this game and I love to compete. I'm just out there doing my thing, and I just want to give us energy and contribute to the team. If I'm out there for as many minutes as I am, I just want to be contributing."

The Panthers held the lead much of the first 20 minutes before heading into the locker room tied. Milwaukee grabbed a 16-13 advantage on a Kelm three-point play at the midway point of the half and went up 18-13 on a Tiby layin 80 seconds later.

Milwaukee's lead was still 21-17 on a Jordan Aaron 3 with 6:15 remaining and hit 25-19 on a Kelm layin with 3:10 left. But Loyola ended the half on a 9-3 run to tie things at 28 at the break. It looked like UWM might have taken the lead back heading into the locker room, but a three-pointer by Arians was ruled to be after the halftime buzzer.

Loyola opened the second half with an 8-2 burst but Milwaukee answered with eight-straight points of its own for a 38-36 lead. The two teams traded the lead from there, with a Tiby 3 pushing UWM ahead 50-47 and a three-pointer from Thierno Niang making it 57-53.

But the Ramblers took the lead back for good at 59-57 on a pair of free throws by White with 7:56 left. The lead grew to 65-60 on a three-pointer by Doyle and hit 73-64 when Doyle hit a three-pointer with 2:15 remaining.

Milwaukee didn't go away, pulling within 73-70 on a pair of Arians free throws with 28.8 left and then within 74-72 on a Kelm follow-up hoop with 16.9 remaining. But on the ensuing inbounds play, Niang was called for a ball when he thought he had gotten to the ball first, sending White to the line for two more free throws to clinch the win.

UWM hits the road again Monday for a matchup at Davidson. The game tips off at 6 p.m. CST and can be seen on ESPN3.