Loyola Races Past Indiana State In MVC Quarterfinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Christian Thomas led a balanced attack with 16 points and sixth-seeded Loyola of Chicago raced to an 81-53 win over third-seeded Indiana State on Friday in the Missouri Valley Conference quarterfinals.

The Ramblers (18-12) got 15 points from Ben Richardson and 12 each from Montel James and Donte Ingram to earn a date with 11th-ranked Northern Iowa, the second seed, in Saturday's semifinals.

Indiana State (15-16), which won the regular-season meetings by 11 and 14 points, were led by Khristian Smith with 12 points, Justin Gant with 11 and Brenton Scott with 10.

James scored all 12 of his points in the first half as Loyola shot 59.3 percent (16 of 27) for a 38-20 halftime lead while the Sycamores were shooting 25 percent (6 of 24).

The Ramblers hardly cooled off in the second half, going 6 of 10 from behind the arc. Richardson was 5-for-5 from distance.

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