Loyola rallies late, tops Northern Iowa 56-50 to end 5-game conference road skid

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — Clayton Custer scored 11 points and Ben Richardson hit a big 3-pointer to spark a late run as Loyola rallied for a 56-50 victory over Northern Iowa on Sunday afternoon.

The Ramblers (12-4, 2-2 Missouri Valley Conference), who snapped a five-game skid on the road in league play, trailed 48-47 when Richardson connected from long range to ignite a game-ending 9-2 run over the final 3:04. Wyatt Lohaus’ basket pulled Northern Iowa (8-8, 0-4) within 52-50 with 1:54 left to play, but the Panthers were held scoreless from there.

Bennett Koch totaled 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots for UNI, while Tywhon Pickford added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Lohaus scored 11 with six boards.

Loyola shot 41 percent from 3-point range, but just 31 percent from inside the arc. Northern Iowa, which had a 26-23 lead at halftime, hit just 6 of 20 from distance and shot 36.5 percent overall. The Panthers have lost six straight.