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Purdue faces surprising Loyola of Chicago

Nov 18, 2008 - 4:14 PM Loyola of Chicago (1-1) at No. 10 Purdue (2-0), 7:00 pm EST

WEST LAFAYETTE, Indiana (Ticker) -- Purdue likely will not take anything for granted when it hosts Loyola of Chicago in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Mackey Arena.

The 10th-ranked Boilermakers are the clear favorite in Tuesday's contest, but Loyola comes in fresh off an impressive 74-53 upset of Georgia in their opening game at this event.

The tournament's top seed, Purdue overcame a sluggish start before thrashing a talented Eastern Michigan squad, 87-58, in their first game.

The Boilermakers fell behind, 8-0, at the start of that contest before rolling to a 42-22 halftime lead.

E'Twaun Moore had 17 points, five rebounds and four assists while Robbie Hummel scored a game-high 18 points for the Boilermakers, who are 5-1 all-time against Loyola at this venue.

Purdue, gunning to win its 12th consecutive home game, is well aware that it needs to slow down Loyola's J.R. Blount.

The senior guard had 16 points and seven assists in the win over Georgia after putting up 42 points in a win over Division II Rockhurst last week.

The Ramblers did not appear to be a one-man team against the Bulldogs, however.

Andy Polka had 12 points and eight rebounds, Justin Cerasoli added a dozen points of his own, Ross Forman contributed 10, and Darrin Williams collected nine points and 10 rebounds.