Dec. 8, 2007

Box Score

CHICAGO - Leon Young tallied 21 points and 14 rebounds to help Loyola University Chicago (3-5, 1-1 Horizon) to an improbable 73-68 overtime victory over Milwaukee (3-6, 0-2 Horizon) tonight at the Gentile Center. With the win, the Ramblers snapped a five-game losing skid, their longest since 2004.

Trailing 10-8 almost midway through the first half, Loyola got seven points from Tracy Robinson in a 9-0 run that put the hosts ahead, 17-10 for their largest lead of the half. Young and Robinson provided nearly all of the Ramblers' offense in the opening period, combining for 21 of the team's 25 points.

Loyola, which led 25-21 at the half, opened the second period with another 9-2 run to open up a 34-23 advantage. Milwaukee refused to go away and tied the game at 39 on a Deonte Roberts lay-up with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation.

The Panthers went ahead, 54-50 on a Torre Johnson lay-up with 1:39 left before Loyola mounted one last comeback. J.R. Blount drained a pair of foul shots with 11 seconds remaining to bring Loyola within a basket, 56-54. Following Blount's second free throw, Milwaukee's Ricky Franklin was charged with a foul as his team tried to in-bound the ball, giving the Ramblers possession under their own basket. Blount launched a long shot from the top of the key with three second left, and although the shot fell short of the rim, Robinson corralled it under the basket and laid it in to even the score and force overtime as the play invoked memories of Derek Whittenburg's alley-oop in the 1983 NCAA Championship game.

Loyola connected on 4 of 5 shots from the field and 9 of 12 from the foul line in the extra session to earn its first League win of the season. Young opened the overtime frame with a conventional three-point play to put the Ramblers on top, 59-56. After Milwaukee scratched its way within a point, Loyola reeled off seven unanswered tallies to take a comfortable 71-63 lead with less than 30 seconds left to play.

Young grabbed a career high 14 rebounds and added 21 points, his highest output since going for 23 tallies at Youngstown State Feb. 25, 2006. Blount chipped in 20 points, 16 of which came after the first half, and Robinson tossed in a career-best 18 points.

Torre Johnson posted 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead Milwaukee.

Loyola is off until Dec. 15 when it hosts Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.