They say the Hawk will never die? Well, the Ramblers might have something to say about that.
Loyola (18-7, 10-2 A10) battled out a win against Saint Joseph’s (16-8, 6-6 A10) on Wednesday night at Gentile Arena by a score 64 to 59.
Some could say the Ramblers possessed a bit of an edge before the ball was even tipped. Billy Lange had a short bench to work with, as junior guard Lynn Greer III (wrist) and freshman center Christ Essandoko (toe) were both ruled out in the pregame for the Hawks.
Loyola got out to their best offensive start in conference play, scoring the first 14 points of the game. Saint Joe’s did not see a basket fall for the first 6:11 of the half, but the lid came off the hoop shortly thereafter. They went on a 14-2 run of their own over the next 5 minutes to cut the Ramblers’ lead to 2 multiple times.
Head coach Drew Valentine said he did not view it as a “dream start” for the team – even with all of the baskets that fell.
“We gotta start the games off better defensively, set the tone and let people know that it’s gonna be hard,” he said.
An offensive struggle ensued for Loyola before the Hawks took their first lead of the game with 4:48 remaining in the half. No matter how far Loyola would go ahead, Saint Joe’s never put their heads down – despite missing two of their stars.
A 6-0 run by the Ramblers in the last two minutes? No problem for the Hawks, who went on an 8-0 run of their own to take a one-point lead at the halftime break.
“I feel like we’re just allowing teams to stay too close with us,” senior forward Philip Alston said in the postgame press conference. “That’s something we’re going to have to figure out as the season keeps moving.”
He added that the team needed to play with more intensity and not give in with a comfortable lead.
The Ramblers adjusted well at halftime, coming out of the break with big threes from Alston and Sheldon Edwards before Billy Lange called his second timeout of the game at 16:22. That’s what Drew Valentine credited as the defining moment of the game.
Depending on what side you were on, the next thirteen or fourteen minutes could have been seen very differently. Call it a defensive battle, an offensive struggle, call it what you want, but both teams duked it out until the final minute of play.
The Hawks had another quick run to put the game within one possession at 15 seconds, but de facto captain Braden Norris sank two clutch free throws for the Ramblers six seconds later.
On the next possession, Loyola chose to intentionally foul freshman guard Xzayvier Brown, who had a career night with 29 points rather than give up a potential game-tying shot. He hit another two at the line for Saint Joe’s.
Des Watson connected on another pair at the charity stripe, but a last-ditch heave from senior guard Cameron Brown fell just short.
Valentine said that Norris and Watson may not have had their best games of the season but applauded their ability to get the job done when it mattered.
“For guys to fight through those [struggles], just [having] that mental toughness that you need to win games, I thought our guys showed a bunch of it,” he said.
Alston led the Ramblers with 14 points, while Watson and Dame Adelekun chipped in 12 and 10 respectively.
With the win, the Ramblers are now tied with Dayton for first place in the league standings. What’s more, they would hold the top seed in the Atlantic 10 bracket on a tiebreaker if the season ended today.
“I’m just glad that we proved last year was a fluke and I’m just super excited and super proud of this team,” Alston said.
Up next for the Ramblers is a trip out to New England to take on a scrappy Rhode Islands Rams (11-13, 5-6 A10) squad playing a bit better than their record suggests.
Tip-off is set for 11 a.m. CST and will be broadcast on CBSSN.
