In 1963, John Sturges directed the now-famous adventure film “The Great Escape,” starring acting legends like Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and Sir Richard Attenborough.
On the Chaifetz Arena court Wednesday evening, we might have witnessed its sequel.
The Loyola Ramblers (9-5, 1-0 A10) defeated the Saint Louis Billikens (7-7, 0-1 A10) by a score of 80-73.
The Billikens turned the ball over 16 times, left 11 points at the free throw line, and never led for the entirety of the evening. Yet, the game didn’t feel over until the scoreboard hit zeros.
The Ramblers took control of the game early, with leads of 16-6 and 25-13. In fact, they were ahead by as many as 18 points with 5 minutes left in the first half. They got a little too comfortable with themselves, though. Little by little, the Bills chipped away at the lead until it was down to five at halftime.
Foul trouble, turnovers, and poor shot selection from the Ramblers out of the locker room became the new norm, and suddenly, it was a tie ballgame with 13:23 left.
That was where head coach Drew Valentine nearly lost his mind.
Drew Valentine none too pleased with his guys 🫣
Loyola has blown an 18pt lead 😳 pic.twitter.com/J0Gdq4jn9A
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 4, 2024
Whatever the third-year bench boss told his troops got them fired up, and they found a different gear to finish the game.
Junior guard Des Watson led the way for Loyola, shooting 7 of 10 from the field and matching his career high of 24 points. De facto captain Braden Norris was a Swiss army knife, chipping in 10 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists of his own.
And off the bench came Dame Adelekun, scoring 10 points and playing valuable minutes in place of Miles Rubin.
The Billikens are still continuing to get healthy as conference play starts up, but tonight may have proved how devastating Sincere Parker’s absence could be. He remains out with a broken foot, and none of his replacements look poised to contribute.
They go out of the microwave and into the fryer, taking a road trip out to Fairfax to face a tough George Mason squad on Saturday.
As for the Ramblers, their conference home opener will be Saturday afternoon against Duquesne, who are coming off of a surprising loss against UMass.
Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on CBSSN.
