‘We can’t take winning for granted’: Men’s Basketball Picks Up Second Win Against Central Michigan 

Loyola men’s basketball picked up their second win of the season against Central Michigan University Dec. 2. Redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore led the charge for the Ramblers, scoring 21 points. Central Michigan’s fourth-year forward Rodney Johnson Jr. tallied 21 points in the 83-72 game. 

Head coach Drew Valentine said he’s proud of the team for fighting and pulling through with a win. 

“I was actually pleased with what I was seeing out there,” Valentine said. “What I’ve been asking them to do is just raise your floor… and I thought we raised our floor tonight. I thought the guys completely locked arms with each other and got it done.” 

Moore and fourth-year guard Kymany Houinsou echoed the joy from Valentine and said the vibes in the locker room going into halftime down 39-31 were still positive, and they were happy with the team win. 

“We can’t take winning for granted, especially after what we went through,” Moore said. “It’s tough to win in college basketball. It’s just a lot of joy, a lot of happiness in the locker room, just for us to keep on one game at a time.” 

Moore scored the first points of the game with a jumper a minute into the game. Johnson Jr. matched it with a layup and took the lead with a free throw. Houinsou slammed a dunk before taking an unsuccessful trip to the line, and Central Michigan’s fourth-year center Nathan Claerbaut added on to the Chippewa lead with a layup. 

Second-year guard Kayde Dotson hit his first 3-pointer of the night to reclaim the lead for the Ramblers. After Central Michigan’s second-year guard Phat Phat Brooks made his first free throw, he snagged the rebound of the second and made a layup to make it 8-7 in favor of the Chippewas. 

Dotson beat the shot clock with a three and Claerbaut tied it at 10 with a jumper. A Moore 3-pointer broke the tie for the Ramblers while Brooks added a layup on the next Central Michigan possession. On a missed three from second-year guard Daniil Glavkov, fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Joseph picked up the rebound and slammed a dunk, forcing a Chippewa timeout. 

Claerbaut brought it to a one-point game with a jumper, and Dotson finished a successful trip to the line on the next possession. Third-year center Miles Rubin scored his first points of the night with a layup, before stealing a Chippewa possession — which was ultimately unsuccessful with a missed three from Ola-Joseph. 

Claerbaut and Johnson Jr. each hit a jumper to bring it within a point before Johnson Jr. made another to retake the lead at 20-19. A dunk from first-year guard Chuck Love III was cancelled out by two at the line from Central Michigan’s fourth-year guard Logan McIntire, but Rubin gave the lead back to Loyola with two more at the line. 

Johnson Jr.’s three was matched with a Dotson layup to tie it at 25. Second-year Chippewa guard Jaxson Whitaker broke the tie with a three with under four minutes remaining in the first half. 

Central Michigan’s second-year forward Keenan Garner hit a jumper before Love III made it a three-point game with two free throws. Another Whitaker 3-pointer added to the fire and Rubin failed to capitalize on a three-point play after slamming home a dunk. 

Johnson Jr. scored on a 3-pointer as Love III took another successful trip to the line. At the final buzzer, McIntire threw up a Hail Mary three which went in, giving the Chippewas a 39-31 advantage at halftime. 

Despite being down, Valentine and the team remained positive and used a strategy familiar to them. Houinsou said Valentine told the team each half is a new game and an opportunity to perform better in the second half. 

“We started the second half without really thinking about what we did in the first half,” Houinsou said. “We just wanted to do better and play hard, giving everything we had on defense, offense, crack the board, get some stops and just play hard.” 

Third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez started Loyola’s second-half hot streak with a 3-pointer, which Moore followed up with a jumper. Houinsou’s two free throws were cancelled out by a Johnson Jr. layup. 

Claerbaut added two at the line which Tavarez countered with a 3-pointer. Another jumper from Johnson Jr. made it a four-point game at 45-41. 

The Ramblers came out swinging following the first media timeout, going on an 8-2 run within a minute. Houinsou made one at the line before a Whitaker layup. Tavarez made a layup of his own before Houinsou picked up a defensive rebound and went coast to coast for a layup. Tavarez capped off the run with a 3-pointer to give the Rambles a 49-47 lead and forcing a Central Michigan timeout. 

Fourth-year center Alexander Richardson added a layup to the board, which Central Michigan’s second-year guard Will Ashford countered with a jumper. Another Central Michigan jumper — this time from fourth-year guard Tamario Adley — tied the game at 51. Adley’s two free throws on the next possession gave Central Michigan the lead again. 

Rubin tied it with a layup and a miss ruled as goaltending gave the Ramblers the lead they would hold on to for the remainder of the game. Moore stole a Central Michigan possession and found an open Ola-Joseph, who slammed a dunk. 

On the next possession, Tavarez recorded the steal and passed it to Houinsou. He sent a no-look pass behind his back to Ola-Joseph, who then slammed another dunk for the 59-53 lead. 

Rubin and Claerbaut traded layups before Rubin added another for a 10-point advantage. Rubin then snagged an offensive board off a miss from Ola-Joseph and found Houinsou for a dunk to make it a 67-55 game and forcing another Central Michigan timeout. 

Adley made another at the line before Claerbaut tipped the ball in. After the last media timeout, Rubin hit another dunk and Central Michigan started intentionally fouling the Ramblers for possession. 

The victim of the fouling was Moore, who successfully made 10 of 14 free throw attempts throughout the night. Valentine said having a ball handler who can make free throws is critical when the game comes to an end like this. 

“It’s huge,” Valentine said. “You want to try to get somebody the ball to end the game, and it’s usually your best ball handler. So when your best ball handlers are really good free throw shooters, it’s very comforting.” 

Moore’s first successful trip was matched with a layup from Johnson Jr.. Central Michigan’s head coach Andy Bronkema received a technical foul for arguing with the referees after not calling a foul on Rubin during Johnson Jr.’s layup. Moore added another point to the board after. 

Housinou was next to travel to the charity stripe and made both attempts. On the other side, Brooks hit three free throws after being fouled by Ola-Joseph and Dotson on separate possessions. 

Moore drove in a layup and failed to convert on the and-one before Brooks completed his three-point play. Moore was fouled on the next possession and made one before Adley added another layup to close Loyola’s lead to 77-68. 

Moore made another two at the line which Johnson Jr. matched with a layup. Moore went back to the line and made both before Rubin recorded a block which went out of bounds. Adley capitalized on the opportunity and slammed a dunk. 

Moore’s final trip to the line was another successful one. After Adley missed a layup, Rubin picked up the rebound with nine seconds remaining, signalling an 83-72 win for the Ramblers. 

The Ramblers look to carry this momentum to their next game against Princeton University Dec. 6. Tipoff in Gentile Arena is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and can be streamed on USA Network.