Loyola Chicago beats Vanderbilt 78-70 in Phoenix

PHOENIX - Cameron Krutwig had 22 points and grabbed a rebound on the final play to close out a triple-double, helping Loyola Chicago knock off Vanderbilt 78-70 in the Hall of Fame Showcase Wednesday night.

Behind Krutwig, Loyola Chicago (8-4) dominated the paint, outscoring the Commodores 46-32 and shot 56%. Krutwig made 8 of 13 shots, had 10 assists and 10 rebounds.

Loyola Chicago has won five straight, its longest winning streak since taking 14 in a row during a surprising run to the 2018 Final Four.

Vanderbilt (6-4) was no match for Krutwig inside and hurt itself by going 13 for 22 on free throws.

Aaron Nesmith had 23 points and Saben Lee added 18 for the Commodores.

The Commodores have been given a green light from long range under first-year coach and former NBA player Jerry Stackhouse, taking 44% of their shots from the 3-point arc through the first nine games. Vanderbilt has struggled to get shots to fall while losing two of three before arriving in the desert, shooting a season-low 35% overall in a 61-56 loss to Liberty on Saturday.

The Commodores were a little better in the first half, hitting 10 of 23 shots, but trailed 35-31 at halftime. Nesmith had 11.

The Ramblers, as they usually do, worked through Krutwig and the big man was effective in the first half, scoring 10 points while dishing out five assists.

Neither team could get separation through most of the second half, neither team able to go up more than five until Hall hit a 3-pointer to put the Ramblers up 62-54 with five minutes left.

BIG PICTURE

Loyola Chicago was crisp offensively after a stop-and-start first half and shut down Vanderbilt defensively to beat a Power Five school for the eighth time in eight seasons.

Vanderbilt had trouble on defense all night, particularly against Krutwig to lose for the third time in four games.

UP NEXT

Vanderbilt host UNC Wilmington on Saturday.

Loyola Chicago hosts Davidson on Sunday.