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A Win on Senior Night Breaks Streak

2/26/04
by John C. Thomas
Led by four players in double figures, Loyola broke a six game losing streak on Senior Night with a 70-59 win over the hapless Cleveland State Vikings. The win in the regular season finale leaves the Ramblers with an 8-19 record overall and a 4-12 conference mark going into the Horizon League Tournament.

The Vikes entered the game not having won a single game since December 13, 2003, and in danger of becoming the first team in 24 years to go an entire season winless in the conference. Loyola had lost 14 of their last 15 before tipoff, so it didn’t promise to be a work of art.

It didn’t look too pretty for the Ramblers in the early going as CSU jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes. Yet the Ramblers took advantage of a turnover prone CSU squad to take their first lead at 21-20 lead on a Demetrius Williams dunk at the 10 minute mark. The two teams exchanged baskets, leads, and turnovers to reach the break with CSU on top, 39-37.

The Ramblers made defensive adjustments at halftime, and took the lead for good at 50-48 with 13:20 left to play. Using a 2-3 zone, Loyola shut down the Cleveland State offense, holding the Vikes to only seven points over a 10 minute stretch. The Vikings were 0-of-8 from behind the arc in the second half, and were outscored 7-1 down the stretch after climbing to within five points at 63-58 with 2:21 remaining.

CSU had only seven scholarship players available for the game, including starting point guard Walt Chavis, who was playing his first game since breaking his hand in January. Fatigue showed in the second half, as they were outscored 33-20.

Paul McMillan led the Ramblers with 19 points and nine rebounds, and Demetrius Williams added 14 points and eight boards (six offensive) in what is almost surely their last game at the Gentile Center. DaJuan Gouard and Terrance Whiters contributed 10 points and four assists each.

Cleveland State’s Omari Westley had a triple double-- 11 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 turnovers. The two teams combined for 39 turnovers.

In addition to getting a win going into the league tournament, the Ramblers got more good news, as Majak Kou returned for the first time since fracturing his toe five weeks ago. Kou scored two points and made two rebounds in one minute on the court.

Now for the bad news. The Ramblers will go on the road, to either Detroit, Wright State, or Green Bay, for the first round of the Horizon League Tournament. Although Loyola has the best record-- a split-- against Detroit, the Ramblers went to overtime at Green Bay, and the Phoenix have lost their last three in a row. It’ll take Detroit beating YSU, UIC beating Butler, and Wright State beating Green Bay on Saturday for the Ramblers to make the trip to the place where they have the best chance to win.