CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago snapped a nine-game losing streak at home Tuesday night against La Salle, 71-61. Four Ramblers scored in double-figures and were led by
Joshua Ola-Joseph who had 16 on the night.
The Ramblers improve to 6-18 overall and 2-9 in A-10 play.
"La Salle came out with a lot of confidence and spirit tonight. You could head their bench," said head coach
Drew Valentine. "I thought our guys did a really good job of responding tonight. Our defense really stepped up after the first media timeout, and we had players make some plays tonight. The guys who came off the bench tonight really made an impact."
How It Happened
La Salle opened Tuesday's game on a 12-0 run, sparking the stretch with a second-chance opportunity on the first bucket of the game.
Kayde Dotson finally got the Ramblers on the board at the 15:53 mark. The Ramblers battled back, using a 12-3 run to cut the lead down to three at the mid-way mark.
Daniil Glazkov sank a three with 9:58 on the clock to wrap the scoring streak.
Alexander Richardson found
Joshua Ola-Joseph for an alleyoop dunk to get the Ramblers within one, while
Deywilk Tavarez drained a three with 1:57 to play for Loyola's first lead of the game, 28-27. The Explorers tied it twice in the final two minutes, including at the buzzer. The game was tied 30-30 at the break.
Loyola and La Salle traded threes to start the second, and it was
Justin Moore's triple at the 17:19 mark that put the Ramblers ahead for good. Glazkov and Dotson hit back-to-back from the arc for their largest lead yet at eight, forcing La Salle to call a timeout at the 13:35 mark. Around four minutes later, the Ramblers went up double-digits on a three from the top of the arc from
Xavier Amos, 55-44.
The Explorers cut the lead down to single digits twice by the 7:27 mark, but the Ramblers scored the next five unanswered to go up 12. Their largest lead came on a 7-0 run that was capped by a pair of free throws from Ola-Joseph, 71-56. The Explorers scored the final seven points of the game, but Loyola would win, 71-61.
Inside the Box Score
- All nine Ramblers scored in tonight's win with four in double-figures.
- Ola-Joseph led with 16 points on 5-8 from the field and 5-7 at the line.
- Moore added 12 points n 4-7 from the field and 3-4 at the line. He tallied three rebounds, two assists, and one steal.
- Dotson had 11, while Amos scored 10. Both had four rebounds each.
- Rubin extended his double-figure rebounding streak to five games with 11. He also had a team-leading five assists and two blocks.
- Loyola out-rebounded La Salle, 36-29.
- Loyola's bench outscored La Salle's, 20-5. The Ramblers also had 13 second chance points.
Up Next
Loyola heads to Davidson for a rematch Friday. Tip-off is 5 p.m. CT on CBSSN.