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Dogs Sweep LU in OT

2/07/04
by John C. Thomas
With Butler muddling through their worst season in 11 years, the Ramblers had a golden opportunity to earn a split with the Bulldogs Saturday afternoon and stay in the race for a first round home tournament game. But the Ramblers blew a seven-point halftime lead and a two-point lead in overtime to give Butler a 74-67 win at the Gentile Center and a season sweep.

The Ramblers came out of the gates with the first four points of the game, but the ‘Dogs answered with an 8-2 run to take an 8-6 lead through the first five minutes of play. The two teams exchanged buckets and the lead several times through the middle of the period until the Bulldogs knotted the score at 22 with 1:30 left in the half.

The plodding pace of the first half worked to the Bulldogs’ advantage, but the ‘Dogs couldn’t hit their outside shots-- going only 2-of-10 from behind the arc in the first frame. The Ramblers had their own troubles-- connecting on only nine of their 16 free throw attempts in the first half.

Loyola forced seven Bulldog turnovers in the first half alone-- this against a team that’s third in the nation in fewest turnovers per game. With Loyola leading 27-22 and only 23 ticks left in the half, the Ramblers forced the seventh Butler turnover of the half, and DaJuan Gouard’s driving layup at the buzzer to give Loyola a 29-22 advantage at the break.

The biggest problem for the Ramblers in the past few games has been coming out of the break with energy and determination. Loyola gave Wright State the first 12 points of the second half on Wednesday to dig a hole so deep that overcoming it tapped all the energy of the shorthanded Ramblers.

It looked as though the Ramblers learned nothing from their experience at Wright State, however, as Butler’s Bruce Horan hit two three pointers in a 6-0 run to begin the second half and cut LU’s lead to 29-28. The two teams traded baskets through the middle of the second half

With the Ramblers clinging to a two point lead at 48-46 with 6:48 remaining, the ‘Dogs went on a three-pointer binge. Jamie Smalligan, Mike Monserez, and Horan each hit threes in a 13-2 run over a four minute stretch to put the Bulldogs up 59-50 with 2:55 left to play.

Yet the Ramblers have nearly perfected the art of huge comebacks in the late stages, and LU did it again on Saturday. The Ramblers used a full court press to fluster the ‘Dogs, and Paul McMillan buried his second three pointer in crunch time to tie it at 61 with :50.6 left. After two Duane Lightfoot free throws gave Butler a 63-61 advantage, DaJuan Gouard connected on a late layup to send it to overtime knotted at 63.

Louis Smith gave LU a quick overtime lead on a layup, and after Lightfoot tied the game, Demetrius Williams put Loyola on top 67-65 with 2:55 left in OT. The Ramblers would not score again. Moserez tied it at 67, and then Horan buried his sixth three-pointer of the day (out of a Butler timeout) to become the eighth opposing player to register a career high against the Ramblers in the past 10 games.

Horan finished with a game-high 22 points, including 6-of-12 shooting from behind the arc. The Bulldogs shot only 20% behind the arc in the first half, but burned the nets with 56% long range shooting in the second half and overtime. Butler’s 74 points notched a season high in offense, breaking their previous season high registered against… the Ramblers.

McMillan led Loyola with 15 points, Williams netted 14, and Terrance Whiters came off the bench to score 10. Louis Smith had a game-high nine boards for Loyola, but Butler won the battle of the boards 39-33.

The Bulldogs adjusted to each of their shortcomings from the first half-- three point shooting, turnovers, and weak inside defense. Meanwhile, the Ramblers almost seemed to absorb most of the first half the woes of the ‘Dogs-- making ill-advised fouls, committing too many turnovers, and poor outside shooting. Another late comeback succeeded in forcing overtime, but the Ramblers couldn’t sustain their offensive and defensive energy in OT.

With the next four games coming on the road against UW-Milwaukee, UW-Green Bay, Detroit, and the Bracket Buster at Illinois State, this loss looms even larger. It drops the Ramblers (7-15, 3-9) from realistic, if not mathematical, contention for a first round home tournament game. Almost certainly, only one home game remains out of at least six more games. And it dramatically increases the likelihood of a (gulp) 20-loss season for the second time in the past four seasons, the fourth time in the last 12 seasons, the fifth time in the past 15 seasons, etc. If the Ramblers manage to lose “only” 19 games this year, it will be the eighth time in the past 15 seasons that Loyola has lost 19 or more.

Wasn’t all that supposed to be behind us?