Playing their first road game of the season, the Southern Utah men’s basketball team dropped a close contest at Loyola-Chicago on Tuesday night.
The game was close for nearly the entire first half, as neither team led by more than six through nearly 15 minutes.
The Ramblers pushed their lead to nine (29-20) with 4:19 to play in the half, using an 8-1 run after the T-birds had gotten within two.
Southern Utah was able to cut into the deficit before halftime, making it a three-point game heading to the break (35-32).
The T-birds regained the lead just over three minutes into the second half (40-38), and the game would continue its back-and-forth pattern from there.
Loyola-Chicago answered back, taking a six-point lead with 12:55 on the clock (48-42). SUU battled back once again to take the lead just three minutes later, but it didn’t last long. Just two and a half minutes later, the Ramblers were up by six again.
The Thunderbirds followed with a 6-0 run via a pair of Dominique Ford three-pointers, knotting the score at 62 with 5:23 to play. After a Loyola bucket, three straight Ford free throws put the visitors ahead by one with just under five minutes remaining, 65-64.
Southern Utah was unable to build on its lead, however, as the Ramblers would outscore them 12-7 over the final minutes to secure a 76-72 victory.
Jamir Simpson led SUU on offense, matching a career-high of 28 points. Dominique Ford added 18 in the team’s first defeat of the season.
Up next
The T-birds (4-1) head to San Diego for a multi-team event this weekend.
First, SUU will face San Diego of the West Coast Conference on Friday, Nov. 22 before tangling with Big Sky member Idaho on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Friday’s game will tip off at 8 p.m. MT, while Saturday’s matchup will commence at 3 p.m. MT. Both games can be seen on ESPN+.
