Amos Stuns in Debut, Men’s Basketball Falls to Chicago State 

The Loyola men’s basketball team fell to Chicago State University in a sloppy 84-75 game. The Cougars started their season 1-9, with their only win coming from a NAIA Division II school and were slated to lose to the Ramblers. 

Fourth-year forward Xavier Amos returned to the roster after dealing with a hand injury which put him out for the start of the season. He led the Ramblers in his debut, dropping 18 points before fouling out with under four minutes to play. Chicago State’s third-year guard Doyel Cockrill III scored 22 points for the Cougars off the bench. 

Head coach Drew Valentine said he was excited for Amos to return to the lineup and is excited to see him continue to grow for the Ramblers. 

“He can drive, get fouled, make threes,” Valentine said. “He’s kind of similar stylistically to Des [Watson], in a way. Good cutter, a good straight line driver, and then can knock shots down.”

After coming off back-to-back wins against Central Michigan University and Princeton University, head coach Drew Valentine said he thought the team’s momentum should’ve stayed high, but because of finals week, the team lost focus. 

“The reality is, if you love basketball and you really care about growing up, getting better and improving,” Valentine said. “Don’t wait til the lights come on to flip the switch.”

Both teams started the game with a four minute stretch of misses and fouls. The first points weren’t scored until after the first media timeout, when Chicago State’s fourth-year guard Marcus Tankersley hit a layup and made the subsequent and-one after being fouled by redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore. 

Third-year center Miles Rubin and Amos each added a layup for the short-lived Loyola lead. Chicago State’s fourth-year forward CJ Ray made two at the line to reclaim the lead, and second-year guard Kayde Dotson added a 3-pointer to the board to keep the Ramblers close. 

An attempted steal gone wrong by Dotson kept the possession on the Cougars’ end for Chicago State’s graduate forward Stephen Byrad to take the ball and send in a layup. Third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez and Chicago State’s fourth-year forward Dailliss Cox each added a three to the board before Tavarez drove in a layup for a 12-10 Loyola advantage. 

Cockrill III and Tankersley kept the momentum with the Cougars on a three and a jumper on consecutive possessions. Fourth-year guard Kymany Houinsou had the opportunity to close the gap, but choked at the free-throw line. Fourth-year center Alexander Richardson made up for it on the next Loyola possession with a jumper, now trailing Chicago State by a point. 

Amos added two at the line before three straight possessions of points. Byard hit a floater while Moore drove in a layup, followed by an open layup for Ray to keep the Cougars ahead. Amos made another at the line to tie the game at 19. Cockrill III then snagged the ball and hit a 3-pointer to retake the lead. Tankersley added on to the board with a jumper for a five-point advantage and forcing a Loyola timeout. 

A Tavarez three kept the Ramblers close, but two baskets from Byard and a free throw from Cockrill III kept Chicago State ahead. 

Amos hit a three before a Chicago State shot clock violation. After receiving the ball, Amos hit another three to make it a one-point game. Chicago State’s second-year guard Lionel Larvadain III added some cushion with a jumper, and first-year guard Malik Robinson continued with a steal and score. Second-year Cougar guard Dakari Thomas ended the first half with a jumper, sending Chicago State into the locker room ahead 35-28. 

Rubin started the second half with a layup before Ray and Amos traded threes. Ray then hit an unguarded three before another steal and score from Robinson, prompting a Loyola timeout. 

Moore failed to complete a three-point play before Ray evened his points to claim a 10-point advantage over the Ramblers. Cox added to the fire with a tip-in before Robinson finished a three-point play. Tankersley continued the Chicago State run with a midrange jumper before Tavarez finally got the Ramblers on the board again with a 3-pointer. 

A Cockrill III layup was met with a 3-pointer from first-year guard Chuck Love III and a free throw from Dotson. Ray hit another three as fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Joseph made one at the line, despite the 12-point lead from the Cougars. 

An Amos free throw and Richardson tip-in brought the gap down to nine, but a successful trip from Cockrill III gave Chicago State the double-digit advantage. Tankersley and Lavardain III scored consecutive layups to increase the Cougar lead to 63-48. 

A Rubin tip-in was met with a successful trip to the line from Tankersley before Rubin added another point with a free throw. A successful coach’s challenge gave the Cougars the ball, which proved to be unsuccessful as Tavarez picked up a defensive rebound. 

Houinsou and Cockrill III each took a successful trip to the line before Rubin completed a three-point play. Amos added to the Rambler run with a 3-pointer and fouled out of the game shortly after, with the Ramblers trailing 67-59 with under four minutes remaining. 

Ray added two at the line, which was met with a 3-pointer from Dotson. Tankersley drove in a layup to keep the nine-point advantage for the Cougars. After being fouled by Byard, who fouled out of the game, Dotson sank both free throws to shorten the Chicago State gap. 

Following a Chicago State timeout, the Ramblers intentionally fouled Cockrill III three times, who added six points to the board off of successful trips to the line. In between two 3-pointers from Tavarez, Robinson added two more for the Cougars to make it a 79-70 game. 

Tankersley’s successful trip to the line was cancelled out by a Dotson three. On the next possession, Dotson fouled out and Cockrill III added one free throw. Moore added two more at the line, but two more from Robinson ended the game 84-75 in favor of the Cougars. 

Despite the disappointing loss, Valentine said the team’s offensive rebounding in the game was a positive aspect he hopes will carry on to their upcoming trip to California. 

“That was the best we pursued the rebounds with two hands and got a ton of good looks,” Valentine said. “We had 26 second chance points, which is really, really high level. If we can be consistent with that, that’ll be a really good addition to what we’re doing offensively.” 

The Ramblers head to California for two games, the first against the University of San Francisco Dec. 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. and streaming information has yet to be released.