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Bailey's Buzzer-Beater Stops WSU

2/08/03
by John C. Thomas
Watching Loyola play on the road over the past few years usually involves the Ramblers getting out to a slow start and then fighting back only to fall short thanks to a second half collapse. Saturday's game at Wright State turned that formula on its head as the Ramblers blew a 16-point first half lead but won on a full-court pass and shot at the buzzer, 71-69.

The Ramblers thoroughly dominated the Raiders in the first half, breaking out to a 31-15 lead in the first 14:40 thanks to hot shooting and tremendous work under the boards. The Raiders finally woke up with an 8-4 run to cut the margin to 35-23 Loyola at the break.

However, anyone who has followed the Ramblers over the past decade knows that no lead is safe on the road. Loyola's 13-point halftime lead shrunk to ten in the first minute of the second half. While the Ramblers frontcourt players piled up fouls, the lead evaporated to eight points with 13:45 left to play. All of those ugly memories came floating back.

With the Ramblers leading 60-53 with 6:23 left to play, it seemed like the Loyola road curse came back full force. Demetrius Williams, and then Paul McMillan both missed the front end of one-and-ones on the same trip down court. Less than a minute later, WSU closed to 62-58, and after the Ramblers made two fruitless trips down court, Wright State closed to 62-59 with more than five minutes left.

When David Bailey went to the line with Loyola leading 64-60 and 3:13 left to play, Bailey missed the first of five missed free throws down the stretch. Three minutes later, Bailey stood at the line with Loyola clinging to a 68-66 lead and 16 ticks on the clock, and two free throws would ice the game. But he missed the first, giving the Raiders a chance to tie with a three-pointer. When Corey Minnifield blocked Seth Doliboa's three-point attempt, it looked like LU had won.

But here's how snake bit the Ramblers have been on the road: the blocked three-pointer eventually found the hands of Vernard Hollins, who was shooting 2-of-26 (7.7%) from behind the arc this year. And guess what? His desperation three found the bottom of the net to tie the game at 69 with 2.8 seconds left.

The Ramblers did not want to go to overtime with four fouls each on Demetrius Williams, Paul McMillan, and Corey Minnifield. So Louis Smith inbounded the ball with a perfect 65-foot baseball pass to Minnifield, who dribbled once and shoveled to David Bailey for a floating lay-up under the basket as time expired. They could try that play 10 times in practice and make it only once, I'll bet. But somehow, it came off without a hitch, on the road, under pressure. Unbelievable.

David Bailey led the Ramblers with 21 points in spite of five missed free throws. Corey Minnifeld added 19, Demetrius Williams had 13 points to go with his 11 rebounds, and Paul McMillan had his tenth double-double of the year with 10 points and 14 boards. The trouble is, aside from the four players in double figures, the rest of the Ramblers were 1-for-13 from the field. Vernard Hollins led all scorers with 24, and the league's leading scorer, Seth Doliboa, had 23.

The Ramblers dodged a bullet and picked up their fifth league win of the year. But even though Loyola returns home for the next three games, the Ramblers face a murderers row of opponents: Butler, Detroit, and an improving Green Bay team. Nothing comes easy for these Ramblers.