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Bailey, Ramblers Wow Crowd and Valpo

12/07/02
by John C. Thomas
David Bailey returned to the Loyola lineup on Saturday, and the human spark plug got the Ramblers firing on all cylinders in an impressive, dominating 80-62 win over Valparaiso. Bailey scored eight points in the first four minutes, played fantastic defense, and fed his teammates with nine assists as Loyola stunned the tall and talented Crusaders.

The Ramblers burst out of the gate, opening a quick 15-3 lead on the Crusaders, who looked to be at least three inches taller at every position. The Ramblers' lack of height was made up for by quickness, and Loyola had no trouble at all with the Crusaders' zone defense. Meanwhile, Loyola played their best defense of the year.

Leading 40-25 late in the first half, Bailey had a breakaway opportunity guarded only by Valpo's 6'11" Ratis Grafs. The 5'8" Rambler phenom threw a fake at Grafs and then hoisted a right-handed hooked floater over Grafs to bring most of the crowd into a frenzy. The Ramblers led at the break, 44-28.

The Ramblers padded their lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Loyola led 58-36 with 14:55 left to play in the game when Bailey had to come out of the game due to an elbow in the groin. With Bailey out, the Crusaders switched to a man-to-man defense and threw a full-court press at the Ramblers, and Valpo quickly cut into the Loyola lead. Valpo went on a 12-2 run, with the lone two Rambler points coming on a goaltending call.

The Ramblers led 60-48 with 10:26 left to play, and memories of some epic Loyola collapses came swirling back. Valpo cut the Loyola lead to 63-52 with 8:24 remaining before Bailey began to break apart the press and feed his frontcourt teammates and Vas Tsimpliaridis on the perimeter. The result was a 13-6 Loyola run over a five minute span, and the Rambler starters were gradually removed from the game to a huge ovation.

The Loyola starting frontcourt, Paul McMillan and Demetrius Williams, were nothing short of fantastic against a taller and beefier Valpo squad. McMillan and Williams combined for 34 points on 14-of-23 shooting, while pulling down 21 boards-nine of them on the offensive glass. The 6'6" McMillan led all scorers with 20 points and all rebounders with 13 boards. Remember, Valpo had two players listed at 6'11" or taller.

David Bailey was assigned to guard 6'6" Miguel Ali Berdiel, and the 5'8" Rambler held him to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting, while forcing seven turnovers. Meanwhile, Bailey had a season-high nine assists against only one turnover.

The most surprising Rambler performance came from Vas Tsimpliaridis, who until this game had scored only two points on the season. Vas came off the bench and nailed five of his seven three point shots and knocked down both of his two point field goals to finish the game with 19 points.

It was an impressive win for the Ramblers, who appear to be energized and motivated after a couple of lackluster early season performances. When this team plays with focus and determination, they're very fun to watch and capable of beating all but the top teams in the country.

Click Here for game photos.