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Frontcourt Leads the Way for Win Out West

12/28/03
by John C. Thomas
Loyola entered the game against Birmingham Southern College as one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the nation, making only 56% of their attempts from the line. The Ramblers finally found some friendly rims in Moraga, Calif. in the first round of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic, however, as Loyola hit on 22-of-26 attempts from the free throw line in a 74-71 win over BSC Sunday night.

The Birmingham Southern Panthers, a team with an excellent basketball pedigree (two NAIA Division I National Championships in the 1990s), are playing their first year as a Division I school. They are the lowest enrollment school in Division I, but they entered the contest with the Ramblers sporting a 6-2 record and a Sagarin Rating ten spots above Loyola. And the Panthers have a great deal of confidence.

The BSC confidence showed as they took an early six point lead over the Ramblers. Loyola found their game legs six minutes into the second half as the Ramblers gained their first lead at 10-9. The Loyola press befuddled the BSC attack through the middle of the first half as LU streaked out to a 27-19 lead with 5:04 left in the period.

BSC rallied late in the first half, and used a three, an LU turnover, and another three to climb ahead 34-33 with just seconds remaining. But Loyola’s freshman phenom Blake Schilb made an unstoppable move to the basket in the closing seconds to give the Ramblers a 35-34 advantage going into the locker room.

It’s been said many times that the first five minutes of the second half are the most important minutes of any basketball game. And Loyola came out so flat in the opening minutes of the second half that Coach Farmer was forced to call two early time outs. BSC threw up three after three with success, and Loyola made four turnovers in the first three minutes of the period. BSC notched the first eight points of the half and led by double digits at 50-40 with 14 minutes to go on 8-of-14 shooting from behind the arc.

It’s hard to sustain 57% three point shooting over an extended period, and when the BSC shooters went cold, Loyola seized the opportunity. Paul McMillan and Demetrius Williams were nearly unstoppable on the inside attack as Loyola responded with a 17-5 run to regain the lead at 57-55 with just over seven minutes to play.

Unable to hit on outside shots, Loyola went inside down the stretch. Paul McMillan and Demetrius Williams combined for 29 of LU’s 39 second half points as the pair was virtually unstoppable down low. The BSC fouls piled up, and Loyola made good at the free throw line. Williams’ traditional three point play put Loyola up 72-67 with :36 left, and Loyola survived for the win.

McMillan led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the line. Williams had a season-high 20 points, including 8-of-9 shooting from the line. The senior frontcourt duo each captured 10 boards. Majak Kou was the other Rambler in double figures with 10 points.

While BSC shot 41% behind the arc compared to LU’s 13%, the Ramblers killed on the boards. Loyola had 44 rebounds to BSC’s 31. The Panthers’ leading scorer and rebounder, 6’11” center Shema Mbyirukira, was held to just 15 points and five boards.

The Ramblers will face the host St. Mary’s Gaels in the championship game of the tournament Monday night at 9:35 p.m. central time. The Gaels demolished St. Peter's, 90-69, to reach the tournament final.