CHICAGO - The IUPUI basketball team struggled to make shots and the hot shooting Loyola Ramblers ran away to claim an 85-62 victory over the Jaguars inside Gentile Arena on Wednesday night (Nov. 20) as part of the Cayman Islands Classic. Junior Marcus Burk scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting and Isaiah Williams added nine points in the loss. 

Lucas Williamson paced four Loyola (3-2) players in double-figures with 22 points and Cameron Krutwig added 18 points and seven boards for the victors. Loyola shot a sizzling 61 percent overall and 9-of-16 percent from deep, while outscoring IUPUI 22-6 at the free throw line on the night. IUPUI shot just 41 percent overall and 10-of-22 (45.5 percent) from three-point range. 

Momentum swung late in the first half and carried over to the second as the Ramblers turned a tight affair into a runaway. Sophomore Brandon Kenyon stroked his first career trey from the top of the key to cut Loyola's lead to 34-31 in the final minute of the first half. On the Ramblers' next possession, Krutwig earned a trip to the foul line and made both attempts. Rather than getting a final attempt before the final horn, the Jags committed a turnover and Loyola's Marquise Kennedy made a three at the final horn to make it 39-31 at the break. 

The Ramblers then proceeded to score the first four points of the second half and never relinquished the double-digit lead for the remainder of the night. The Loyola 24-6 run spanned both halves as the hosts built a 58-37 lead with 13:37 left as Aher Uguak scored on a three-point play. 

Kennedy closed with 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and Paxson Wojcik tallied 10 off the Ramblers' bench. 

Zo Tyson closed with eight points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting and four boards and Jamil Jackson Jr. closed with seven points off the bench. Junior Jaylen Minnett had six points, four rebounds and three assists, just hit just 2-of-8 attempts for the night. Freshman Mike DePersia closed with four points, four assists and three steals in the loss. 

IUPUI led 21-18 at the midpoint of the first half as Burk was on fire at the outset. Burk, the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week and CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson Award Player of the Week, connected on his first four three-point attempts of the game and tallied 17 of his 23 before the break. 

The loss dropped the Jaguars to 1-1 in the Cayman Islands Classic after having won at South Florida a week ago. In addition, the Jags fell to 0-2 all-time against the Ramblers.

IUPUI will continue play in the Cayman Islands Classic in the Mainland Tournament at Omaha on Monday (Nov. 25) when the Jaguars take on Loyola (Md.) at 5:30 p.m. inside Omaha's Baxter Arena. The Jaguars will take on either host Omaha or Southern University the following day, based on Monday's outcomes.