CHICAGO, Ill. - Loyola University Chicago shot close to 70 percent from the floor against the Milwaukee men's basketball team, setting a school mark for shooting percentage by an opponent during a 72-56 victory Saturday afternoon at Gentile Arena.
 
The Panthers (4-6) shot better than 50 percent in the first half yet trailed the Ramblers (9-2) by 11 at the break. Loyola finished a run of 11 consecutive made field goals to open up an 18-point lead in the second half and never looked back in winning their fourth in a row.
 
"The first half we were right there with them – we shot 52 percent – the challenge was that we couldn't keep it out of the post enough and couldn't get them to miss," Milwaukee head coach LaVall Jordan said. "That's unacceptable, especially against a team like that. They are a really good team and are tough to guard. They are a physical, tough team and they share the ball well."
 
Cody Wichmann paced the UWM offense with 13 points while adding four rebounds. Brock Stull also ended the afternoon in double-figures with 11. Bryce Barnes chipped in nine points and three assists in a contest played in his hometown.
 
"I was proud of our fight in the second half," Jordan said. "Guys had a little more energy to them defensively and we held them to 28 points. It was just the first half, they really got rolling."
 
Loyola was up over 80 percent from the floor until the middle of the second half, helping it improve to 7-0 at home on the year and 20-1 in its past 21 games at home against non-conference opponents. They were led by Aundre Jackson (21 points) and Milton Doyle (22), who combined to go 18-for-19 from the floor in the contest.
 
"They are patient offensively and they don't force bad shots," Jordan said. "Shot selection has a lot to do with field goal percentage and the right guys take the right shots."
 
Loyola came in as one of the best-shooting teams in the country, checking in at No. 6 in the NCAA at 51.4 percent. The Ramblers outdid themselves in the first half, missing just five times in 23 attempts to finish the period at a white-hot 78.3 percent. That helped them continue to build a lead, settling in at 44-33 at intermission.
 
Loyola made each of its final seven shots of the period to distance itself from the Panthers a bit, who were within one at 24-23 on a Wichmann three at the 6:56 mark. A second spree helped the home team, putting up a 13-3 stint to make the margin double-figures for the first time.
 
UWM shot over 50 percent itself, making 12-of-23, yet were hampered by nine first-half turnovers and the post presence of Jackson, who went 7-for-7 in the first half, not attempting a shot outside of the paint.
 
Ten points in a row by the Ramblers gave them a 13-4 lead early, only to see UWM respond with a 10-2 push of its own, trimming the lead to 15-14 on a layup by August Haas at the 9:40 mark.
 
Loyola clipped the opponent field-goal record despite missing the final two of the day to finish at 67.5 percent (27-of-40), breaking the former standard of 65.3 percent set in 2007. It also reset its own school mark for any game in the process. Milwaukee cooled down in the second, finishing just under 40 percent (21-of-54) overall.

Up next, the stretch of nine out of 10 games away from home finally ends, with the Panthers making the trip to take on Ohio in midweek action. Tip-time against the Bobcats on Wednesday is set for 6 p.m. CST.