ST. LOUIS (AP) Marques Townes made a key 3-pointer and finished with 12 points as top-seeded Loyola-Chicago beat No. 5 seed Bradley 62-54 on Saturday in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal at the Scottrade Center.

Loyola-Chicago (27-5) has won a season-best nine straight games and will face third-seeded Illinois State (17-14) in the championship on Sunday.

Bradley trailed the entire second half and pulled to 56-54 with 4:47 to play but didn't' score again, missing its last five field goals and two free throws. Townes hit a 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining and the Ramblers made 3 of 4 free throws to end it.