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Ramblers Survive Wright State

3/2/04
by John C. Thomas
The Loyola Ramblers entered their first round Horizon League Tournament game considered by many to be the most dangerous underdog in the field-- a team considered much better than their eighth seeding might indicate. They showed why Tuesday night as the Ramblers shocked the Wright State Raiders 76-59 at the Nutter Center in Dayton. Loyola advances to play Detroit at Hinkle Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon.

The Ramblers started off slowly, scoring only two points in the first six minutes of the game. Trailing 20-10 with nine minutes left before the break, Loyola went on a 15-5 run capped by a DaJuan Gouard three pointer that tied the game at 25 with 2:06 left. Wright State took a 30-27 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

Loyola got their first lead of the game on a goaltending call in the first two minutes of the second half, but WSU responded with a 5-2 run to lead 35-33 with 16:30 left to play. That's when the Ramblers, behind excellent ball handling, made their push.

LU captured the lead for good at 38-37 with 15:22 remaining, and padded the lead to nine points at 55-46 with nine minutes left. Neither team was able to score for the next four minutes as the Raiders missed free throws and the Ramblers had a bout of turnovers on three straight possessions.

But as the nine point lead grew in significance as the clock wound down, the Ramblers seemed to gain confidence. Gouard and Terrance Whiters took control down the stretch, and when Gouard buried a three with 3:11 left to play, Loyola had a 60-49 lead.

Wright State, playing what was beginning to look like their last game of the season, looked to ride the back of leading scorer Vernard Hollins to make a comback. The Raiders closed to within 61-55 with 2:34 remaining. But on the very next possession, Louis Smith scored his only points of the game-- a three-pointer that silenced Wright State’s smallest home crowd of the year-- giving Loyola a 64-55 lead with two minutes left.

The Ramblers made their fans nervous by missing the front ends of one-and-ones on two straight possessions, but Wright State only managed to score four points in the final 2:34 of the game as the Ramblers pulled away.

Wright State entered the game as the fourth best free throw shooting team in the league, connecting on 71.5% of their freebies on the season. But tonight, the Raiders made only six of their 19 attempts (31%). And the Raiders made only five of their 23 attempts behind the arc, allowing Loyola to play a 2-3 zone that shut off WSU’s inside game.

Gouard and Whiters led the Ramblers with 19 points apiece, including a combined 23 points in the second half. Paul McMillan had a double double with 17 points and 10 boards, and Blake Schilb led Loyola on the glass with 11 rebounds to go with eight points and three assists. Vernard Hollins led all scorers with 21 points to end his career with 1680 total points.

This win was huge for the Ramblers and Coach Farmer. But it begs the question, where was that effort all year long?

Loyola has an opportunity to face Detroit (winners of nine straight) on a neutral court Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in Hinkle Fieldhouse. It will take the best performance of the year to advance.