Ramblers Overcome Nail-biter Against Saint Joseph’s 55-58

In the last seconds of Loyola’s second matchup against Saint Joseph’s University Feb. 1, third-year guard Jayden Dawson drained three free throws to put the Ramblers back in the win column, improving to 13-8 overall and 4-4 in conference play. 

After the Hawks previously knocked the Ramblers around in a 93-57 beat down Jan. 11, Dawson said the win was significant and held true to the program’s committed culture. 

“Obviously the first game definitely didn’t go our way,” Dawson said. “I mean, the last five games outside of that, it’s been a lot of good and close games. So to come on top of this one and finally get over that bunker was big for us.” 

Graduate guard Sheldon Edwards Jr. led the Ramblers with 12 points, while Saint Joseph’s fourth-year guard Erik Reynolds II grabbed a game-high 17 points. 

The Ramblers won the tipoff and Dawson drew a foul, resulting in the first points of the game coming at the line. Edwards Jr. stole the ball on the next possession to extend the 4-0 lead. 

Reynolds II got the Hawks on the board with a jumper before Edwards Jr. found second-year center Miles Rubin for a signature dunk. Rubin repeated the move — this time assisted by third-year guard Kymany Houinsou — for a quick 8-2 lead. 

Second-year Saint Joseph’s guard Xzayvier Brown added two at the line before Edwards Jr. hit a jumper. A three by Reynolds II cut Loyola’s lead to 10-7, but a jumper by fourth-year guard Des Watson and a driving layup by Houinsou kept the Rambler ahead. Just before a media timeout, third-year Hawks forward Rasheer Fleming drained a 3-pointer to make it 14-10. 

Over five minutes of misses plagued the court before Edwards Jr. made a 3-pointer to end the drought. 

Brown made a layup for the Hawks and fourth-year forward Francis Nwokorie drained a three before a media timeout, with the Ramblers leading 20-12. 

Fourth-year forward Jalen DeLoach was left open under the net and slammed a dunk. A Rubin jumper was called off after a travel call, but Watson made up for it two minutes later with a driving layup. 

Houinsou completed a driving layup after missing a shot on the previous possession. Fleming added one at the line for the Hawks during an and-one opportunity, but a three from Watson maintained Loyola’s 29-15 lead.

Third-year guard Jalen Quinn completed an and-one following a Saint Joseph’s timeout, before Brown added two at the line shooting one-and-one. A layup from Quinn closed out the first half with the Ramblers ahead 34-17. 

Brown opened scoring in the second half by making two at the line. Reynolds II added two more soon after, and third-year Hawks guard Derek Simpson went coast-to-coast for a layup after a steal, closing the gap to 34-23. 

Two more at the line by Brown forced a Loyola timeout as the Ramblers remained scoreless in the second half.

Watson made a three before Simpson added a jumper from the paint. Edwards Jr. recorded a steal and took it down the court for a dunk, keeping the Ramblers ahead 39-27. 

After a free throw from graduate Hawk center Justice Ajogbor, Reynolds II stole the ball and secured a dunk before hitting a jumper on the next possession. Brown followed suit with another steal and layup to bring the Hawks within five. 

Rubin got the Ramblers back into motion with a layup before Reynolds II made another jumper and layup off a steal. 

Quinn and Dawson each made layups before second-year Saint Joseph’s forward Anthony Finkley made a three. Brown added two free throws before a Loyola shot clock violation prompted a media timeout. 

A DeLoach free throw preceded a Brown layup, which inched the Hawks closer. Nwaokorie kept the advantage in the hands of Loyola with a reverse layup, but Brown added two more at the line for a one-point difference. 

A Dawson jumper and an Edwards Jr. 3-pointer nabbed back the 53-47 lead. Fleming received a pass from Brown for a tip-in before Simpson added two at the line to make it a one-possession game again at 53-51. 

With two minutes remaining, Reynolds II tied the game with a layup, and Fleming took the lead with a successful trip to the free-throw line. Dawson tied it back up with a jumper before a Hawks shot clock violation gave Loyola possession with 43 seconds remaining.

Brown fouled Dawson as he took a 3-point attempt with two seconds left in the game. At the line, Dawson made all three free throws to secure the 58-55 win for the Ramblers.

Dawson said there was a lot of pressure with the game coming down to those final shots. 

“We just came together as a team in huddles, the timeouts,” Dawson said. “We really came together in the last 10 minutes. It was big for us coming together and then my teammates are stretching to me and believing in me.”

The Rambler defense held the Hawks to shoot just under 30% from the field — a feat head coach Drew Valentine said was key in their game.

“I’ve been hesitant to do what we did today,” Valentine said. “[Saint Joseph’s] run so much guard to guard action, that’s why I felt comfortable with them doing it. I thought our different ball screen coverage had them a little flustered on what we were doing between our switching, our deep drop and then our trapping.” 

The Ramblers stay in Gentile Arena for their next matchup against St. Bonaventure University, Feb. 4. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and can be streamed on CBS Sports Network.