Ramblers Defeat Minutemen in 74-51 Win 

The Loyola men’s basketball team closed their regular season with a 74-51 win over the University of Massachusetts March 8. Massachusetts third-year forward Daniel Hankins-Sanford led all scorers with 22 points, followed by Loyola third-year guard Jayden Dawson with 17 points. 

Massachusetts fourth-year guard Rahsool Diggins started the game with a successful trip to the line, but Dawson made a 3-pointer a minute later to give the Ramblers an early 3-2 lead. 

A jumper by Hankins-Sanford switched the lead, but neither team could capitalize on their offensive possessions for the ensuing two-minute span.

A Hankins-Sanford layup broke the ice and kicked off a run for UMass— a trip to the line for second-year guard Jayden Ndijigue and a jumper by Hankins-Sanford — to keep UMass’ lead at 10-3. 

Fourth-year guard Jalen DeLoach answered with a quick jumper, and second-year center Miles Rubin followed with a layup. Loyola’s scoring run continued over the next two minutes with a layup by fourth-year forward Francis Nwaokorie and a free throw by Rubin to recover the lead at 11-10. 

The Minutemen tallied a jumper by second-year guard Jaylen Curry and a fastbreak dunk by third-year forward and center Shahid Muhammad. Fourth-year guard Des Watson made two consecutive shots before the Ramblers went on a 13-0 run with two 3-pointers and a layup from Dawson. 

UMass’ Diggins stopped the bleeding temporarily before graduate guard Sheldon Edwards Jr. drained a 3-pointer. Hankins-Sanford continued the Minutemen scoring with a layup and a three-point play following a Watson foul. 

Dunks by DeLoach and third-year guard Kymany Houinsou alongside a Watson 3-pointer extended the Rambler lead. Another successful trip to the line for Hankins-Sanford closed Loyola’s lead to 34-21 at the end of the half. 

Loyola started the second half strong with three minutes of uncontested possession, as a layup by Rubin and 3-pointers by Edwards Jr. and Dawson widened the gap. Hankins-Sanford recorded the first point of the second half for the Minutemen with a jumper, followed by a trip to the line. 

A layup by third-year guard Jalen Quinn and fastbreak dunk by Houinsou were met with a Diggins layup. DeLoach landed a jumper, before a nearly two-minute drought occurred on the court.

Curry sank both free throws before a 3-pointer by Dawson — the last Rambler point before the Minutemen ran away with a 7-0 stretch.

During the run, Hankind-Sanford had two trips to the line and first-year guard Nate Guerengomba scored on a layup and free throw.

The Ramblers got their hands back on the ball before Watson netted a free throw, Edwards Jr. sank a 3-pointer and DeLoach made a layup. Hankins-Sanford responded with another layup. 

A trip to the line by Rubin added two more points to the scoreboard while Edwards Jr. drilled a 3-pointer before Curry responded with a jumper. The Minutemen continued with a layup and free throw from Diggins, limiting the 64-42 Rambler lead.

Watson and Curry traded layups before Watson put a 3-pointer on the board. A dunk from Hankins-Sanford brought momentum back for the Minutemen, but it vanished with a 3-pointer from Nwaokorie and a Glazkov layup.

The game ended in a 74-51 Loyola victory after a Massachusetts timeout and a layup from first-year forward Luka Damjanac sealed the game. 

Head coach Drew Valentine said he was confident about the Ramblers’ gameplay and their chances prior to the game. 

“There’s three or four games a year where you know you are going to win no matter what happens,” Valentine said. “UMass came out and jumped on us early. We needed to get focused and do a better job defending the glass.”

Loyola continues their postseason with the Atlantic 10 conference tournament in Washington, D.C. Following a double-bye, the Ramblers play March 14 at 2 p.m. against the winner of Game 5. The game can be streamed on CBS Sports Network.