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Ramblers Rule at Home

1/18/03
by John C. Thomas
Loyola faced off against Rollie Massimino's Cleveland State team Saturday afternoon at the Gentile Center. In spite of a taller and longer-armed opponent, Loyola took command of the game under the boards, winning the rebound battle 43-34, and capturing their fourth conference win, 77-65.

Loyola took an early lead, and survived the fact that they were defended by taller opponents at every position. The Ramblers raced out to an early 28-19 lead with 6:33 left, but the Vikings came back and narrowed the gap to 39-37 Loyola at halftime.

In the second half, the Vikings held their own for quite some time. When the advantage was 60-56 Loyola with 6:16 left, David Bailey took over. Bailey scored seven straight points and 10 of Loyola's 13 points in a two and a half minute spurt. It was a 13-2 run for Loyola that put the Ramblers ahead 73-58 with 3:34 left to play.

Two days after David Bailey's worst-ever college game, the 5'8" senior rebounded with a game of the type that made him a national figure. Bailey scored 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting, while adding eight assists and snagging seven rebounds. He was upset that he had to come out of the game because of an elbow in the face in the backcourt that brought out blood. No call, but blood on the court. Bailey had to sit out for the rest of the game.

David Bailey led all scorers with 29 points. Paul McMillan had 18 points to go with his 10 rebounds-his eighth double-double in his 19 career games at Loyola. Demetrius Williams had 17 rebounds to go with his 10 points. Modibo Niakate led CSU with 19 points and five assists.

The Ramblers are now 6-0 at home this season, with an average winning margin of 12.2 points per game. The Ramblers have won nine straight at the Joe dating back to last year.