Blount leads Loyola past Georgia

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- J.R. Blount scored 16 points, and Loyola of Chicago defeated Georgia 74-53 Monday night in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Justin Cerasoli and Andy Polka each scored 12 points, and Ross Forman added 10 for the Ramblers.

Travis Leslie led Georgia with 23 points, and Terrance Woodbury added 19 for the Bulldogs.

Loyola advanced to play 11th-ranked Purdue on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round. Purdue beat Eastern Michigan 87-58 earlier Monday evening.

Georgia (1-1), which won the Southeastern Conference tournament last season, was seeded sixth, while Loyola was seeded 10th. Loyola (1-1), picked to finish eighth in the Horizon League, was coming off a loss to Division II Rockhurst in its season opener.

It was Loyola's first win over a team from a major conference since an 80-65 win over Purdue on Dec. 11, 2005.

Blount, who scored 42 points against Rockhurst, had 13 in the second half against Georgia.

Loyola shot 48 in the second half, while Georgia shot 32 percent.

Leslie and Woodbury combined to shoot 15-for-25 from the field, but the rest of the team shot 3-for-29.

Both teams shot poorly in the first half at the nearly empty Mackey Arena. Georgia shot 35 percent while Loyola shot 32 percent in the first half, which ended in a 29-all tie.

Woodbury scored 13 points in the first half for Georgia and shot 4-for-5 from the field.

Loyola took command early in the second half with an 18-4 run. A 3-pointer by Blount put the Ramblers up 47-33. Moments later, a 3-pointer by Forman made it 50-35. Loyola's biggest lead of 21 was its final margin of victory.