Ramblers Clicking in 77-53 Win Over St. Bonaventure

The Loyola men’s basketball team took a commanding 77-53 home win against St. Bonaventure University Feb. 4, displaying a complete performance before  a rowdy Gentile Arena crowd, despite a slow start.

Head coach Drew Valentine said the successful offensive performance led to equally successful defense, which forced 16 turnovers by the Bonnies — 11 of those coming off steals.

“I think the most important thing with our offense was our defense never faltered and our defense stayed the same, no matter what,” Valentine said. “Because so many times in those games, you let your defense dictate your offense and it becomes like a slug-fest of 50-to-50 game.”

Two key contributors to the Ramblers’ win were second-year center Miles Rubin, with 15 points and nine rebounds, alongside fourth-year guard Des Watson’s 17 points and four steals.

St. Bonaventure won the opening tipoff, and redshirt second-year Jonah Hinton was the first to score, finishing a floater after both sides squandered their initial offensive possessions. 

Loyola’s first point of the night came from third-year guard Kymany Houinsou, who hit one of two free throws. Rubin recorded his first block of the night on  an attempt by  graduate St. Bonaventure center Noel Brown, but the Ramblers were unable to take advantage.

Fourth-year guard Melvin Council Jr. cut inside to finish a layup opportunity to give the Bonnies a three-point advantage. Just before a timeout was called on the floor, Rubin tried to finish an alley-oop attempt and was blocked before grabbing his own rebound and slamming a dunk in.

Bonnies’ fourth-year guard Chance Moore drove a layup into a defender-filled paint for a 6-3 lead. On the other end, fourth-year forward Jalen DeLoach took a pass into the paint and pumpfaked two defenders before dunking.

Loyola picked up the pace over the next minute and a half, going on an extended run. Two 3-pointers from Watson and fourth-year forward Francis Nwaokorie, and layups by DeLoach and third-year guard Jalen Quinn overpowered the layups of Council Jr. and third-year Bonnies’ guard Lajae Jones for a 15-10 Loyola lead.

Watson traveled down the court and slipped in a layup. Brown, after being fouled by Rubin, shrunk the lead back to five with two free throws. Despite a pass from Watson going off-target, DeLoach was able to recover and converted a standing layup.

A minute later, graduate guard Sheldon Edwards Jr. hit a 3-pointer before Council Jr. hit a jumper, and Moore finished a layup the following possession for a 22-14 Loyola lead. 

With a defender closing in, Watson drained a 3-pointer before Bonnie’s first-year forward and center Xander Wedlow quickly responded with a jumper. Despite being fouled in the process of shooting, Wedlow was unable to convert the extra point.

A cold-streak from beyond the three-point line continued for third-year guard Jayden Dawson, going 0-6, but the Bonnies found limited success as Hinton hit a three and redshirt first-year Noah Bolanga followed suit right after. A Watson 3-pointer halted the run and kept a 28-24 Loyola lead.

Rubin scored three after receiving a dish from Houinsou for an uncontested layup and added a lone free throw the possession after. With ten seconds left in the half, Watson grabbed a steal and traveled coast-to-coast to deliver a layup and give Loyola a 33-24 advantage at the break.

Edwards Jr. said the increasing pace of play and early defensive might allowed the Ramblers to dig into their typical gameplan. 

“We understood how they were gonna guard us, so we knew what looks we were gonna get — it was just a matter of executing,” Edwards Jr. said. “We always try to play as fast as a team, like in rebounds and getting on a transition — something we do every game.”

Out of the half, a Loyola offensive possession ended with Moore stealing the ball and avoiding the defense for a St. Bonaventure layup. On the next play, Watson received a pass in the corner and pumpfaked past his defender to hit a jumper. Dawson added a layup after taking a steal the length of the court.

Moore drove a layup in and was fouled in the process before missing the extra free throw and keeping the Bonnies’ deficit at nine. A drive into the paint by Edwards Jr. ended with him losing the ball before Rubin snatched it up and laid it in.

A layup attempt from Jones was swatted away by DeLoach, allowing Dawson to finally connect on a 3-pointer — his first in seven attempts. Down 42-28, the Bonnies to call a timeout.

Edwards Jr. made up for a missed three a possession later by nailing one from the corner. After Council Jr. drove in a layup, Edwards Jr. responded with one of his own.

Gentile Arena increased a few decibels after Houinsou delivered a pinpoint pass for Rubin to finish an alley-oop play. A Watson steal led to the same outcome and a 51-30 lead.

A corner three by Moore eventually ended the run, and Valentine called a timeout, but the scores had made a clear impact, according to Rubin.

“One of our biggest momentum shifts is our crowd,” Rubin said. “Once our crowd gets into it, like everybody on the team gets into it, we get momentum and we all scoring buckets and everything.”

Rubin made back-to-back-to-back alley-oops, as a driving pass from Dawson made it a 20-point Loyola lead. The two followed with more big plays as Dawson hit a corner three and Rubin recorded another block, this time on a driving attempt by Council. Jr.

Two successful free throw trips were exchanged between Brown and Quinn before a small scoring drought took place on the court. Council Jr. ended it by darting into the paint and around a defender with a layup to cut into the 58-37 Loyola advantage.

Dawson hit a 3-pointer, and redshirt first-year St. Bonaventure forward Duane Thompson responded with a layup. Thompson finished another layup after a highly-anticipated Rubin dunk earned Gentile a Canes buy-one-get-one-free deal before a timeout was called on the floor.

Out of the timeout, Thompson nailed a 3-pointer behind a set screen, and Thompson went to the line after being fouled on a 3-pointer attempt — only hitting two.

The Ramblers responded with back-to-back threes — Dawson swishing one and Edwards Jr. banking the other off the backboard. Quinn added an additional layup after another Loyola steal.

A layup from Hinton made it a 71-48 game before Quinn responded with a layup of his own before a media timeout. Bolanga added two free throws after being fouled, and Watson finished a dunk off a Rubin assist. 

Final substitutions were made by Valentine with a minute remaining, allowing first-year guard Jack Turner the opportunity to finish a layup through contact.

The final score of the night came from Hinton, who converted a three in the dying seconds. On their final possession, Loyola dribbled out the final ticks for the 77-53 win.

The Ramblers head on the road for their next match up against Duquesne University Feb. 8. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. and can be streamed on CBS Sports Network.