ST. LOUIS – The Ramblers led for over 37 minutes in the Atlantic 10 opener at Saint Louis Wednesday night. Despite two second-half ties, Loyola Chicago held on for the win, 80-73.
Des Watson led the Ramblers matching his career-high 24 points, while
Braden Norris and
Dame Adelekun joined him in double-figures with 10 points each.
With the win, Loyola improves to 9-5 overall, 1-0 in A10 play.
"Our defensive intensity is what it needed to be early," said head coach
Drew Valentine. "I think we were being disruptive and executing our game plan. We've really been working on that over the course of the last few weeks. I think we're seeing a group that's coming out here and executing it."
How It Happened
Philip Alston led the Ramblers on a 14-2 rampage in the first four minutes of Wednesday's game. He hit a three on Loyola's opening possession that was matched by
Jayden Dawson on the next trip down the court. Alston capped the run with four straight points, including an alley-oop feed from
Braden Norris.
With a little over five to play,
Jalen Quinn picked Mike Meadows pocket and took it down the floor for a bucket and Loyola's largest lead at 18. The Billikens began to chip away and got the lead under 10 with 1:18 on the clock. Meadows netted the final points of the half, and Loyola took a 41-36 edge into the break.
Early in the second half, Bradley Ezewiro scored six consecutive points for the Billikens getting them within one by the 15:22 mark. Two minutes later, Terrence Hargrove knotted the game 53-53 with a deep three. Kellen Thames tied it 55-55 for the final time midway through off a Hargrove steal.
Adelekun built some separation over the next three minutes with six straight Loyola points. Down the stretch, Watson drained one from the arc for an eight-point edge. Rubin upped it to nine points from the line with 1:49 to go. SLU nailed a late three, but Loyola went on to win, 80-73.
Inside the Box Score
- Watson set a career-high in steals (4) and notched his second 20-point performance matching his career-best 24 points set earlier this season.
- Adelekun and Norris each scored 10 points.
- Adelekun finished 5-of-6 from the field.
- Norris added six boards and tied his season-high seven assists.
- Adelekun and Rubin each blocked two shots.
- This marks the first win against SLU since joining the league.
- The Ramblers shot over 50 percent from the field for the fourth time this season.
Up Next
The Ramblers will play Duquesne Saturday for the A10 home opener. Tipoff is 3 p.m. and can be watched on CBS Sports Network.
