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Second Half Meltdown Ruins Opportunity

1/02/03
by John C. Thomas
Only the Grimm brothers could have written a scarier ending to what looked like a fairy tale game for Loyola at halftime. Leading 43-40 at the half, the Ramblers fell apart like a wet paper bag and were outscored by 24 points in the second frame as DePaul crushed Loyola 95-74 Thursday night at Allstate Arena.

Loyola hung with the Demons in the early going, but the size differential (mostly in the person of 6'9" Andre Brown coming off the bench) boosted DePaul to a 23-12 lead with 10:30 remaining in the first half.

That's when the Ramblers took advantage of their speed advantage by slapping a full court press on the Demons. The press helped Loyola to a 13-2 run over the next 2:12, and Loyola led 26-25 with 8:18 left in the half. The two sides traded baskets for the next eight minutes until Corey Minnifield hit a three pointer to give Loyola a 43-40 lead at the break.

But as Loyola fans have seen over and over again this season, a very good first half performance went by the boards when the opposition made adjustments and the Ramblers didn't. Loyola did an admirable job of defending in the paint in the first half, but the Demons stepped back behind the line and shellacked Loyola in the second half. DePaul outscored Loyola 13-4 the first three and a half minutes out of halftime to give the Demons a 53-47 lead, and the trend never reversed.

Rockford product Joe Tulley, held scoreless in the first half, scored 21 in the second half behind 4-of-5 three-point shooting. Here's a great stat for comparison-DePaul took nine fewer three point shots, but made six more than Loyola. The Ramblers didn't make a single three in the second half, and Kevin Clancy, David Bailey, and Paul McMillan were a combined 0-for-13 from behind the arc.

The Demons, who beat Seton Hall in the same arena on Saturday by the score of 52-41, scored three more points in the second half on Thursday night than they did in the entire game on Saturday. They may not score more than 80 points in a game the rest of the year, and that's the way they like it. Loyola had the Demons playing their game, but the Ramblers froze up shooting in the second half while allowing blistering 10-of-16 shooting from behind the arc. Shades of 2000-2001…

Paul McMillan led Loyola with 16 points, Terrance Whiters had 14, David Bailey notched 13, and Corey Minnifield had 12. Meanwhile, all five Demons starters scored in double figures, led by Tulley's 21.

As good as the Ramblers played in the first half, they gave back all respect and more with a miserable, pathetic showing in the second half. The defense was confused and inept, the offense settled for ineffective outside shooting in the second half, and the coaching staff didn't have any answers for a DePaul offense that isn't designed to score more than 80 points.

For six years now, DePaul has refused to play Loyola. Finally, we get a game with the Demons, and apparently nobody told the players or the coaching staff that it was a 40-minute game and more than just moderately important. Too bad it wasn't last year, when the roles were reversed-the Demons cared more about what kind of a showing they made and the Ramblers cared about wins.

For Game Photos by Brian M. Payne, Click Here.