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The long ball served Loyola well in the first half of its nonconference match-up with Glenbrook North on Tuesday.

The Ramblers knocked down six three-pointers to race out to a double-digit halftime lead and never looked back, cruising to a 55-41 win in Wilmette.

“We have a lot of shooters,” said Jack Morrissey, who knocked down four treys on the night and finished with a team-high 15 points. “We get a lot of looks from beyond the arc. That’s the way our offense works.”

Loyola (14-5) started the game on fire, racing out to an 11-2 lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Ramblers were ahead 19-6.

Morrissey connected on three of his four tries from beyond the arc and had 10 points in the quarter.

“My teammates found me in great spots and they told me to keep shooting,” Morrissey said.

Loyola cooled off in the second quarter, missing its first five shots in the period. A pair of buckets by Glenbrook North’s Andrew McAuliffe, a three-pointer from Jan Siegien and a field goal from Benjy Lerman cut the lead to 19-15 with 2:58 remaining in the first half.

The Ramblers finally ended the scoreless streak on a trey by Jack Byrne with 2:12 left in the half. The bucket sparked an 8-2 run to finish the half as Loyola took a 27-17 lead into the locker room.

The Ramblers extended the lead to 44-29 after three quarters of play. McAuliffe, a Davidson recruit, had eight of his team’s 12 points in the third quarter.

Glenbrook North (8-9) chipped away at the lead in the fourth but could never get within single digits.

“They played good defense and our shots weren’t falling,” said McAuliffe, who finished with a game-high 22 points. “I tried to get things going. We need to work on patience, moving the ball and getting open shots. Our guys can hit the three and if they can get going, things open up for us.”

Kurt Karis added eight points for the Spartans.

James Clarke contributed 12 points for the Ramblers after getting off to a horrid start. The junior guard missed all eight of his shots in the first half but rebounded going 3-for-4 in the second half.

“At halftime coach (Tom Livatino) said to throw out everything that happened,” Clarke said. “It was a fresh start and he started running some plays for me in the second half.”