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Second Straight Overtime Yields Road Win

1/11/03
by John C. Thomas
The Ramblers played their second overtime game in three days Saturday night, and again had to overcome a double-digit deficit. This time, though, the final result was a much happier story as Loyola came up big in extra time and won their first ever game at Green Bay's brand new Resch Center, 74-62.

The Ramblers shot as cold as the Green Bay night air in the opening minutes of the game. Loyola missed their first nine shots in a row as the Phoenix built a 13-0 lead in the first six minutes.

But Loyola played aggressively on both ends of the court, and kept in the game by making eight of 10 shots from the free throw line while shooting only 17% from the field. Meanwhile, the Loyola press and some solid defense from the Ramblers limited the Phoenix to only 26 first half points. UWGB led 26-20 at the break.

Sooner or later, the Ramblers' good looks at the basket were bound to start falling. And in the second half, David Bailey got hot. After trading baskets for much of the second half, the Ramblers tied the game at 53-all on David Bailey's fourth three-pointer of the second half with 4:19 left to play.

The Phoenix weren't exactly shooting the lights out from the field, but they made 18 trips to the free throw line in the second half. Coming into the game shooting 76% from the line as a team, UWGB missed 13 second half freebies including two shots from Matt Rhode that could have given the Phoenix a lead or a tie with :20.2 remaining.

Paul McMillan made his first free throw with :14.9 left, but missed his second, giving Loyola a 58-56 advantage. The Ramblers obviously expected the Phoenix to take a three point shot for the outright win, but UWGB looked to line up for a three and then cruised straight to the basket for a lay-up to send the game to overtime deadlocked at 58.

It seemed like a logical strategy for Green Bay to send it to overtime. Loyola had just played an extra frame in Indianapolis two nights before, Corey Minnifield had fouled out, and three Ramblers had four fouls headed into extra time. After Greg Babcock hit a lay-up and was fouled :15 seconds into the extra time, it looked positively brilliant.

But Babcock missed his free throw that would have given Green Bay a three-point lead, and Terrance Whiters immediately hit a three pointer at the other end to give the Ramblers a lead they would never relinquish. While Green Bay missed most of their shots down the stretch, Loyola hit nine free throws in overtime to pull away.

David Bailey led Loyola with 24 points after going 0-for-7 in the first half. Paul McMillan added 18 for the Ramblers, Minnifield chipped in nine, Whiters had seven, and Vas Tsimpliarids and Demetrius Williams each had six. Most importantly, though, Loyola carved out a double-digit rebounding advantage led by McMillan's 15 boards and Louis Smith's 10. Even David Bailey had seven rebounds for the Ramblers.

The road conference win was vital for Loyola. The Ramblers move to 3-2 in conference, with their only two losses coming on the road to the conference favorites and on the road in overtime to the conference leaders. If the Ramblers can escape Detroit with a win, they'll be in excellent position to make a run at one of the top three spots in the league and a bye in the first round of the conference tournament.

The total effort in the last three games has been encouraging. The Ramblers are finally starting to hustle, playing a little smarter, and giving an all-out effort on both ends of the court. The team is finally playing closer to their ability, even if they haven't yet put together 40 full minutes of solid basketball. Fortunately for the Ramblers, 39 minutes was enough Saturday night.