The Ramblers took an early second half lead and never looked back.
Loyola-Chicago took a one-point lead on a Montrel James and-one dunk with 16:02 left in the second half and never gave it back, beating UL Monroe 65-58 to win the first of the College Basketball Invitational's three-game championship series.
James had a solid all-around night for the Ramblers, posting a line of 11 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. As a team, Loyola-Chicago shot 51 percent from the floor for the entire game, including Christian Thomas' 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Earl Peterson's game-high 16 on 5-of-10.
After the James dunk, Loyola-Chicago gradually built a second half lead that hovered around nine points for most of the final 10 minutes. UL Monroe made one final push with four minutes left to play, cutting the deficit to three, but strong free throw shooting put the game away.
Although they hit eight three-pointers, UL Monroe struggled to score elsewhere on the court, finishing with 38 percent shooting from the floor for the game. Jamaal Samuels led the way for the Warhawks with 15 points on 6-13 shooting.
The two teams will play Game 2 of the series on Wednesday and Game 3, if necessary, on Friday.
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