The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers came from behind on Wednesday to knock off the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks, 63-62, and win the 2015 College Basketball Invitational. The win clinches the best-of-three series for the Ramblers, who also won on Tuesday. It's Loyola-Chicago's first postseason championship since winning the NCAA Tournament in 1963.
Loyola-Chicago vs. UL-Monroe final score, CBI 2015: Ramblers come from behind to win tournament final, 63-62
A third game won’t be necessary in the 2015 CBI finals. Loyola-Chicago knocked off UL-Monroe to clinch the series and win the title.
The first half was mostly a back-and-forth affair, with six lead changes and neither team leading by more than five points. The Ramblers shot 59.1 percent from the field, compared to 41.9 percent for the Warhawks, but the two teams went into halftime deadlocked at 33-33.
UL-Monroe jumped out to a 13-5 run to start the second half, but Loyola-Chicago pulled back within two points. The Ramblers kept things close for most of the half, but were unable to get a lead. Things turned around near the end, when Loyola-Chicago took advantage of a scoring drought (the Warhawks scored just five points in a five-minute span) to get a 59-58 lead at the 3:40 mark. It was the Ramblers’ first lead since 19:23 in the second half. Loyola-Chicago extended the lead to three points and were able to salt the game away with free throws, holding on to the slim lead at the end.
The Ramblers finished the game shooting 54.5 percent and making 6-of-16 three-pointers. Devon Turk led the team with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting and MIlton Doyle came off the bench to add 13. UL-Monroe shot 41.8 percent, but made just 3-of-17 from beyond the arc. Majok Deng was the Warhawks' leading scorer with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Tyler Ongwae added 15 points and Justin Roberson had eight assists.
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