CHICAGO (AP) - Cully Payne scored 18 points, Ben Averkamp added 16 and Loyola of Chicago earned an 81-78 victory over Tennessee Tech on Wednesday night.
Loyola of Chicago (5-2) led 38-34 at the break, but went on a 20-10 run to begin the second half capped by Devon Turk's 3-pointer with 11:44 to play to give the Ramblers a 58-44 lead and they never looked back.
The Ramblers came up big from the free-throw line, making 25 of 36. The Golden Eagles were 12 of 13.
Tennessee Tech (2-3) made things interesting in the end when Matt Marseille hit a 3-pointer with 9 seconds to play to cut the Ramblers lead to one at 79-78, but Joe Crisman hit a pair of free throws to make it 81-78, and Lanerryl Johnson's last-ditch 3-pointer missed its mark to end it.
Marseille had 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting for the Golden Eagles.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
