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Forty Years Ago Today

3/16/03
by John C. Thomas

Tuesday, March 16, 1963 vs. Illinois at East Lansing, MI

While Loyola was playing a game of historical import against Mississippi State, the #8 University of Illinois team had defeated Mid-American Conference champion Bowling Green, 70-67, for the right to face the Ramblers the following night. The Illini had strength, height, and toughness on their side-those three attributes were the deciding factor in their victory over Bowling Green, one of only two teams to defeat Loyola on the season. Loyola was a running and pressing team with great athleticism. It would be a difficult game of contrasting styles.

For their part, the Ramblers had just defeated the #6 team in the country-- the three-time defending SEC champions-- in an emotionally charged game, and only one bench player spelled the five overworked starters. Physical and mental fatigue could be a factor against a deeper and stronger Illini squad. A let-down after the game the night before could end the season. A tightly-called game would favor the Ramblers.

The biggest concern for Loyola was Illinois' twin towers-Bill Burwell and Skip Thoren, who each measured 6'8 ½". The Ramblers had experienced problems against teams with height and bulk that could block off rebounders from getting into the paint. But Illinois coach Harry Combes kept Thoren on the bench to start the game, hoping to give Illinois a lift with the substitution.

After Illinois led early, 11-9, Jerry Harkness took control. The hot-shooting Harkness scored four of Loyola's first six buckets, and put Loyola up for good at 13-11. The Illini were forced to double team Harkness, which opened up the paint for penetration and rebounding. Loyola earned an eight-point lead at halftime, 38-30, in spite of a rebounding margin of just one.

Just after halftime, Illinois' Dave Downey scored two straight baskets to cut Loyola's lead to 40-34 with 17:48 to play. But Harkness brought his hot hand back from the first half, and scored eight points in a commanding 13-0 Loyola run over the next 3:04 of the game that seemed to break the spirit of the Illini. The Big 10 champions turned the ball over 20 times in the game compared to Loyola's six. And while Loyola's rebounding was more or less even in the first half, the Ramblers dominated the boards in the second half, pulling down 15 more second-half rebounds than the taller Illini. With 4:31 left to play, Loyola's lead had ballooned to 75-47.

The Illini didn't quit, outscoring Loyola 17-4 over the last four and a half minutes, to post a more respectable final score of 79-64. But it was a rout, pure and simple.

Harkness finished with a game-high 33 points. Ron Miller added 15 points to the Loyola cause, and John Egan had 13. Vic Rouse, who had 19 boards, and Les Hunter, who snagged 15, did the major rebounding damage to the Illini.

"Their two big men were just much quicker than Billy [Burwell] and Skip [Thoren]," Illini Coach Harry Combes told the Chicago Daily News. "Loyola is the greatest offensive rebounding team I've ever seen. They almost always got two or three tips. They don't have to have a high shooting percentage when they tip like that."

Because of Loyola's dominance on the boards, Harkness was able to play outside the lane to get a head start on the fast break. With Illinois sending slower players out to guard Harkness, it was simply a sprint to the basket and two Loyola points any time Harkness was able to get clear for a pass.

"I think boarding was the big factor," Coach George Ireland told the Chicago Tribune. "Illinois is explosive, but I think we defensed them well. We played man-to-man tonight because it makes us more aggressive and is an equalizing factor. We are not a tall team, you know. We slowed down late because we were tiring and several of the boys have colds."

Roy Damer, the Tribune beat writer for Loyola, wrote, "It was a magnificent victory for Loyola, but part of the glitter was taken off when Hunter elbowed Bill McKeown in the face near the end of the game. McKeown wisely held his temper and the two shook hands, averting an incident."

The incident-or potential incident-- was not reported in any other account of the game, from the AP, the Daily News, or the Sun-Times. And if it had been obvious and intentional, why wasn't Hunter removed from the game by the referees? Surely a black player committing an intentional violent act in a basketball game in 1963 would have been ejected from the game. This kind of comment was typical of the Tribune's reporting about Loyola throughout the season. Instead of fair reporting about the decisive Loyola victory, the Tribune made another dig. It wouldn't be the last.

In their first ever NCAA Tournament, the Ramblers were going to the Final Four. Jerry Harkness was a unanimous choice for the regional Most Valuable Player award.