GAME NOTES: Competing for the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic title, the Loyola Chicago Ramblers and Boise State Broncos will butt heads Tuesday night at Orleans Arena with the crown on the line.

Loyola Chicago pulled off a win over Texas Tech on Monday night, holding off the Red Raiders, 62-44. The Ramblers have won five straight games, and sport a 9-2 record on the season.

Boise State had to use overtime on Monday night to defeat Houston, 75-73, but the Broncos picked up the win. The Broncos are on a six-game win streak, and are 10-2 overall entering the clash with a 2-0 mark on neutral floors.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Loyola Chicago and Boise State on the basketball court.

It wasn't a pretty offensive performance for the Ramblers and Red Raiders on Monday, uncharacteristic of their respective styles. But Loyola pulled out a win thanks to a dismal 34 shooting percentage for Texas Tech, which included an 0-of-21 mark from 3-point range by the Big 12 Conference program. Jay Knuth netted 15 points with six rebounds to pace the Ramblers in scoring, while Ben Richardson chipped in nine points to the winning effort.

The up-tempo style of offense for Loyola Chicago helped the team against Texas Tech, and it could be useful in Tuesday's championship clash. The Ramblers went into Monday's contest scoring a healthy 70.2 ppg on a very healthy 49.7 percent shooting from the field. Defensively, Loyola has been solid, allowing 62.8 ppg to opponents before Monday's clash with the Red Raiders. Milton Doyle missed a game for the Ramblers earlier in the season, but went into Monday night's contest netting a team-high 14.6 ppg. He was followed by Christian Thomas' 13.5 ppg mark. Montel James owned a 5.1 rpg average to lead the team before Monday's night's clash.

Boise State let a nine-point halftime lead over Houston fade away in the second half Monday, as the Cougars were able to knot the score at 62-62 at the end of regulation. But clutch free-throw shooting in the extra session helped put the Broncos ahead. Derrick Marks netted 14 points to pace Boise State in the win, while Mikey Thompson added 13 points and six rebounds. Igor Hadziomerovic and Rob Heyer each tallied 11 points, and James Webb III added in 10 before fouling out.

Looking for offense is simple in Boise State's lineup. The Broncos went into Monday night's clash with Houston averaging 75.4 ppg on an impressive 47.3 percent shooting touch, which included a 39.7 percent mark from 3-point range. Marks came into the first-round contest netting a team-best 17.0 ppg, followed by Anthony Drmic's 15.0 ppg, though Drmic had been out for the team's past three games, and it's unclear whether he'll be able to suit up for Tuesday's game due to a sore lower back. The Broncos were letting up just 65.5 ppg to opponents.

Loyola's best players weren't very productive in Monday's game, but the team still picked up a win nonetheless. They'll have to be active against a strong Boise State squad Tuesday, though, or else the Broncos will shoot the lights out.