Men’s Basketball Advances to NIT Second Round After 73-70 Win

The Loyola men’s basketball team defeated San Jose State University 73-70 in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament March 19, propelled by a hot start at the midpoint of the first half. 

Fourth-year guard Des Watson led the team with 24 points, followed closely by second-year center Miles Rubin who scored 14 — six coming on dunks. Fourth-year guard Josh Uduje led the Spartans with 18 points. 

Graduate Spartan guard Donavan Yap scored the first points of the game two minutes in with a 3-pointer. On the next possession, Rubin made his first dunk of the night, which was immediately canceled out with a three by San Jose State’s graduate forward Sadaidriene Hall for an early 6-2 Spartan lead. 

Second-year San Jose State guard Latrell Davis, third-year guard Kymany Houinsou and Yap traded buckets on the next three possessions before Watson went on a solo five-point run with a jumper and a 3-pointer. 

After redshirt third-year Spartan forward Robert Vaihola made one at the line, third-year guard Jayden Dawson drained a three to claim the 12-11 lead. 

A Vaihola layup was matched by a three from graduate guard Sheldon Edwards Jr. and a jumper by fourth-year forward Jalen DeLoach. Following a scoreless minute, first-year guard Jermain Washington and Edwards Jr traded 3-pointers to make it 20-16 in favor of Loyola. 

A single Rambler possession with five misses occurred, prompting a two-minute scoring drought. Hall broke the dry spell with a jumper and completed a three-point play after a layup by Watson. 

Rubin made a layup while Uduje drained a three, tying the game at 24 with over seven minutes to play in the half. 

Empty possessions cursed both teams until third-year guard Jalen Quinn completed a three-point play to put the Ramblers back in the lead. But the Spartans fought back with free throws by Vaihola and Uduje to go up three. 

Rubin slammed in a dunk before Washington and fourth-year forward Francis Nwaokorie traded threes, with Nwaokorie adding another 3-pointer 30 seconds later. Watson’s pass found Rubin under the net for another dunk and a 37-33 Loyola lead. 

Yap and Quinn traded layups before Watson attempted three free throws after being fouled mid-3-pointer. He drained all three and sent the Ramblers into halftime ahead 42-35. 

Houinsou opened the second half with a steal and found Dawson for a transition three. A successful trip to the line by Yap was negated by a Rubin dunk before a 3-pointer by Uduje brought it to 47-40. 

The Ramblers went on a seven-point run with a layup and 3-pointer by Watson and a jumper from Dawson. Four successful trips to the line by both squads — two from Uduje and one each from Davis and Quinn — maintained the Ramblers’ healthy 10-point lead. 

A Hall layup nullified a Rubin dunk, which was preceded by layups from Quinn, Hall, Nwaokorie and Yap. Watson completed a three-point play before Rubin made another dunk. 

Yap and Uduje combined for a five-point run, interrupted by a layup from Watson. Three consecutive possessions ending with a Rambler turnover gave the Spartans ample scoring opportunities, but they only capitalized once with a Yap jumper. Watson scored on a jumper on the following possession. 

The Ramblers blew a 12-point lead, as the Spartans scored 11 unanswered in a span of four minutes. Uduje sparked the run with a successful trip to the line, followed by a layup by Hall and a 3-pointer and free throws by Davis, leaving a minute left and just one point separating the teams. 

Watson capped off the night with two free throws, and the Ramblers earned a postseason win at 73-70.

Head coach Drew Valentine said Watson pulled through for the team when they needed him most, but he was overall happy with the team’s performance. 

“We started the game really flat and then played some pretty good basketball for 25 to 30 minutes before the mental errors came into play,” Valentine said. “At the end of the day, [Watson] stepped up and made the plays the team needed to advance.” 
The Ramblers will head to the second round of the NIT Sunday, March 23 against the University of San Francisco — their second matchup of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN2 or listened to on Ramblers Sports Network.