Yarbrough scores 21, Illinois St. beats Loyola-Chicago 65-57

Feb 3, 2019, 01:11 am

NORMAL, Ill. -- Milik Yarbrough scored 21 points and Keyshawn Evans added 14, including four 3-pointers, to help Illinois State beat Loyola-Chicago 65-57 on Saturday night and move into a tie with the Ramblers atop the conference standings.

Zach Copeland had 11 points for Illinois State (14-9, 7-3 Missouri Valley Conference). The Redbirds have won three in a row and five of their last six.

Illinois State hit five 3-pointers, including three by Yarbrough, while outscoring the Ramblers (14-9, 7-3) 23-10 over the final 8 1/2 minutes of the first half to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Marques Townes hit a jumper to trim the deficit to six about three minutes into the second half, but Matt Chastain and Copeland made back-to-back 3s to make it 43-31 and Loyola trailed by at least eight points the rest of the way.

Townes finished with 19 points and five assists, while Cameron Krutwig had 15 points and 11 rebounds, for Loyola.