NORMAL — Loyola took control near the end of the first half and moved into a tie for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference by grinding out a 59-50 victory over Illinois State on Monday at Redbird Arena.
ISU's late-season slide continued as the Redbirds lost their fourth straight and ninth in the last 10 games, dropping to 11-18 overall and 4-12 in the league.
Antonio Reeves paced ISU with 15 points and Josiah Strong scored 11. The Redbirds shot 36% from the field, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range.