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Ugly, Uninspired Opener

11/22/02
by John C. Thomas
Coming off their best season in 17 years, the Loyola men's basketball team took a huge step backward in their humiliating season opener Friday night against Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles. The Lions lost 12 in a row and six straight at home to close the season last year, and were full of inexperienced newcomers. But the Ramblers came to town and practically gift-wrapped an 85-79 LMU victory.

The Ramblers started well, opening a 10-point lead early in the first half. But when David Bailey came out of the game for a breather, the lead evaporated in almost no time at all. By the time Bailey returned to the game, Loyola had lost the momentum, and Bailey couldn't find the bottom of the basket. Bailey had only two points at halftime on 1-of-7 shooting, and the Ramblers were lucky to take a 41-41 tie into the locker room thanks to 11 points each from Terrance Whiters and Paul McMillan.

Bailey's shooting woes continued in the second half, and the Lions pulled out to a seven point lead before Bailey exploded with 18 points in the final 15 minutes of play. Loyola fought back to briefly take a 64-63 lead after trailing throughout the second half. But defensive lapses, turnovers, and cold shooting allowed the Lions to immediately answer Loyola's charge with a 13-5 run that put the game out of reach. And in spite of LMU's lack of experience in the win column, they held on at the end.

Loyola was outrebounded 36-34, and committed 23 turnovers. But the biggest key to the loss was free throws-LMU took an astounding 15 more free throws than the Ramblers, and connected on 75% of their freebies while the Ramblers hit only 62% of theirs.

David Bailey ended up leading the Ramblers with 20 points, and Whiters added 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting. Demetrius Williams had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards, and Paul McMillan also had 14 points. Meanwhile, 6'2" freshman guard Brandon Worthy led the Lions with 24 points and six boards-five of them on the offensive glass.

Sports Information Director Bill Behrns astutely observed a similarity between this Loyola loss and the season opener in 2000-2001, when the Ramblers lost their opener to Stephen F. Austin on the road. That uninspired loss was the beginning of a miserable 7-21 season in which the Ramblers went through the motions for much of the year. It would be a shame if the same thing happened again this year-especially given the obvious talent level of this team and the rare high expectations of the long-suffering Loyola fans.

This disappointing loss is even more frustrating given the fact that the Ramblers will play 18 of their 29 regular season games away from the Gentile Center this year, and this one might have been considered one of the three easiest road contests. How can the Ramblers expect to compete against UNC-Charlotte, Michigan State, and Colorado if they give up 85 points to Loyola Marymount?

Now the Ramblers have to fly back to Chicago to regroup quickly before facing a rejuvenated Bradley team Monday night at the Gentile Center. The Braves knocked off highly-regarded Pepperdine in their first game under new head coach Jim Les, and unless the Ramblers can muster some serious intensity, it could be an ugly night at the Joe.