Horizon League Links

Butler
Detroit
Illinois-Chicago
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Wright State
Youngstown State
Horizon Connection

Forty Years Ago Today

2/18/03
by John C. Thomas

Monday, February 18, 1963 at St. John's

Fresh off their Saturday night loss at Bowling Green, Loyola notified the NCAA on Monday morning that they would accept an at-large bid to the 1963 tournament. The Ramblers would face a first-round Mideast regional foe on March 11 at Northwestern's McGaw Hall. Loyola had received an NCAA at-large bid the previous year, but declined the offer after a team vote to accept a bid to the NIT, played in Jerry Harkness and Ron Miller's hometown. So it was ironic that later the same day the Ramblers would face St. John's-a three-time NIT champion struggling with a woeful 6-12 record-- at Alumni Hall in Queens.

St. John's was a powerhouse in college basketball, having won the NIT as recently as 1959 and having reached the NCAA championship game in 1952. The Redmen were going through a rebuilding year under their legendary coach Joe Lipchack, who had returned to St. John's after a stint as the first coach of the NBA Knicks. Even with their worst record in many years, St. John's was still a quality program with a legendary coach, and they were playing on their home court-a dangerous combination for an opponent like the Ramblers, who had played poorly in their last two games.

The Ramblers started the game determined to take control and keep the crowd of 4,480 sitting on their hands. Loyola took the lead immediately and built a 32-23 halftime cushion against St. John's efforts to slow the pace. A few minutes into the second half, Loyola broke the game open with a 21-5 run to put Loyola ahead 55-31 with 7:05 left to play. The Ramblers cruised the rest of the way trading baskets with the Redmen in an order-restoring 70-47 win.

Loyola controlled the backboards with a 43-37 advantage, and New Yorkers Jerry Harkness and Ron Miller led the Ramblers in scoring with 15 and 14 points respectively.

Flushing out the taste of defeat felt good, but there were some foreboding signs from the game as well. The Ramblers had their lowest scoring output of the year. Vic Rouse fouled out of the game with only seven points and six rebounds. And even with a 24-point lead with only 7:05 left to play and one player fouled out, Chuck Wood and Dan Connaughton were the only two bench players able to see any minutes. Coach Ireland simply didn't have any faith in the bench.