By Jack McCarthy
Friday's 53-50 Horizon League victory over host Illinois-Chicago was especially sweet for visiting Loyola, which earned its first win of the new year and snapped a five-game losing streak against the Flames.
Junior guard Geoff McCammon collected a career high 26 points, including a key three-pointer late as Loyola broke a 46-46 deadlock and moved out to a late six-point advantage while Illinois-Chicago went scoreless for nearly six minutes.
The Ramblers then withstood a late Flames surge while struggling with their own missed shots and turnovers to preserve the win.
McCammon hit a pair of free throws in the final 3.3 seconds to finally put the nationally-televised game out of reach.
Junior guard Robo Kreps paced the Flames (5-12, 1-6) with 20 points while Jeremy Buttell and Brad Birton each had 8. Terrance Hill added 7 for the Ramblers (12-5, 3-4) who came into the game with a three-game losing streak.
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