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Wright State Cleans LU's Glass

2/04/04
by John C. Thomas
Terrance Whiters came off the bench to score a season-high 22 points for a shorthanded Loyola Ramblers squad, but it wasn’t enough as Wright State defeated Loyola 83-71 Wednesday night at the Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The Raiders dominated the offensive glass against the Ramblers, who fell to 7-14 on the season and 3-8 in the Horizon League.

Loyola, buoyed by an amazing comeback against Detroit on Saturday, came out with confidence and a bounce in their step. The Ramblers scored the first seven points of the game and held a 36-34 lead with just seconds remaining in the first half. But WSU’s Alex Koch, who burned Loyola with a career high 17 points in their January 17 meeting at the Gentile Center, buried a three just before the break to give WSU a 37-36 halftime lead.

The Raiders were full of energy starting the second half, and scored the first 12 points of the period to cap a 15-0 run and extend their lead to 49-36 with just under 17 minutes left in the game.

With the game looking like it might get out of hand, Terrance Whiters provided a spark for the Ramblers. Whiters’ scoring and passing not only brought the Ramblers back from a 13-point deficit, Loyola sported a 55-50 lead capped by a DaJuan Gouard three pointer with just over 10 minutes left to play-- an incredible 19-1 run to answer the WSU 15-0 run.

The powerful comeback might have come too quick, too soon for the banged-up Ramblers. With Jason Telford and Majak Kou unavailable due to injuries and Louis Smith playing in foul trouble, the Ramblers seemed to run out of gas. With the score tied at 57-all and 8:32 remaining, the Raiders went on an 11-2 run over the ensuing four minutes to establish a comfy working margin they maintained through the end of the game.

Whiters scored 15 of his season-high 22 points in the second half, and added six assists and three steals to the Loyola cause. Paul McMillan (18), DaJuan Gouard (15), and Demetrius Williams (10) also scored in double figures for the Ramblers. Freshman DaShaun Wood led Wright State with a career-high 21 points, the seventh career high registered against the Ramblers in the past nine games.

Loyola was held to a season-low 22 rebounds, while Wright State snatched 39, including 11 on the offensive glass. This is against a team that starts three freshmen, including a 5’11” point guard that had eight boards. Loyola’s 6’6” power forward Paul McMillan and 6’9” center Demetrius Williams, both seniors, had six rebounds each to lead the Ramblers.

The loss at Wright State dumps another yard of wet cement in the Ramblers’ Horizon League tournament dancing shoes. At 3-8 with only two home games left, it appears the Ramblers will struggle to keep from being forced to go on the road for a first round game in the league tournament. Who would have thought that LU would finish in the bottom three this year?

Loyola is a team that like to score in quick, furious bursts. Sometimes they seem to forget about defense in order to take a bite of that candy. But underscoring it all-- this year and for the past two seasons-- is the fact that the Ramblers don’t win on the road if they don’t win the rebounding war by a significant margin. Tonight, they were crushed by a group with less experience, height, and leaping ability.

It feels good to bury a three and tell the guy that was guarding you how beautiful it looked while it was tickling the bottom of the net. But if that same guy goes in for an uncontested layup while you’re still running your mouth, it’s not worth much-- especially when your team is shooting a league-low 26% on the three bombs.

Funda-freakin-mentals.

Loyola's next game is Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. against Butler. It's an important game, because a loss would virtually clinch a first round road game in the HL tourney.