Men’s Basketball Wins First Game of 2026 in 71-61 Win Versus La Salle

Loyola men’s basketball captured their first win of 2026 after going 0-9 in January, with a 71-61 win over La Salle University Feb. 3. The Ramblers rallied behind 16 points from fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Jospeh, while the Explorers saw a game high 18 points from graduate guard Jarden Marshall.

Despite third-year center Miles Rubin winning the opening tip, Loyola lost control of the ball, leading to a second-chance put-back by third-year La Salle forward Edwin Daniel. A bricked three by fourth-year forward Xavier Amos gave the Explorers a quick chance, which Marshall took advantage of with a three. 

After another Loyola miss, second-year guard Jaden Johnson drove in a layup followed by a Johnson steal and pass to Marshall for a 9-0 lead, forcing head coach Drew Valentine to take a timeout. 

Valentine spoke post game about what he told the team during the timeout to get Loyola back on track.

“Calm down, slow down, take a deep breath, collect yourselves,” Valentine said. “We know what we have to do to win, and let’s not overreact or just think the game is over, but the game just started… I just talked about ‘Hey, remember this just happened to us last Tuesday. Let’s stay with it, let’s not lose our minds, let’s not freak out.’ I thought the guys responded really well.”’ 

Marshall splashed home a deep three, and the Ramblers found themselves trailing 12-0, barely three minutes into the half. Rubin found second-year guard Kayde Dotson on a pick-and-roll as Loyola finally got on the board with a layup before Johnson matched the layup with one of his own.

First-year guard Nic Anderson drew a foul on a drive, sinking both. First-year Explorers guard Ashton Walker countered with a contest floater to bring the lead back up to 12. A put-back by Amos put Loyola within ten, and a travel on La Salle led to a baseline jumper from redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore to make it 16-8.

Amos drew a foul on a contested layup, but missed his and-one opportunity. Loyola retained possession after La Salle lost control of the rebound, but missed their shot off the inbound. Third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez knocked down a 3-pointer before fourth-year guard Damon Strand matched with one of his own for the Explorers. 

Second-year guard Daniil Glazkov brought the Ramblers within one possession on an elbow three as La Salle turned the ball back over to Loyola, but Amos missed a three to tie. After two scoreless minutes, the Ramblers broke through with fourth-year center Alexander Richardson throwing an alley-oop to Ola-Joseph, igniting the crowd as the lead shrank to 19-18.

La Salle regained possession on a turnover on Amos, originally ruled Loyola ball, before the call was overturned via coaches’ challenge. Marshall took advantage with a jumper to put the Explorers up three. Ola-Joseph drew a foul in the paint, hitting one at the stripe.

Daniel battled for La Salle on a layup as Anderson matched on a spinning floater. Walker continued to pour it on for the Explorers, hitting a stepback jumper to make it 25-21.

A one-handed slam by Rubin brought the game back within two before Marshall drew a foul on Rubin, finishing the layup but bricking the and-one. Amos drew a foul on an aggressive drive, hitting both. Another La Salle miss gave the Ramblers a chance for their first lead, which Tavarez delivered on a 3-pointer for a 28-27 advantage. 

The Explorers had a chance to move back in front as Marshall drew a foul, but he only sank the second shot to tie at 28. Ola-Joseph finished a paint floater for a two-point advantage before Walker hit a fading jumper to close the half tied at 30.

Both sides opened the second half fast with Dotson and Walker trading corner threes. Ola-Jospeh buried a 3-pointer from the elbow for another three-point lead. Daniel hit a floater over Rubin before Moore knocked down a stepback three for Loyola’s third of the half, matching their total from the first half, not even three minutes in. 

Johnson drew a foul on a made layup but missed the three-point play. Ola-Joseph finished a lay-in inside before redshirt second-year guard Rob Dockery drew a foul on Moore, hitting both. 

Tavarez found Glazkov behind the arc the next possession where he splashed a 3-pointer. A La Salle miss gave Loyola another chance to extend their lead, which Dotson converted on a spot-up three for the 47-39 lead, their largest of the game.

Marshall broke Loyola’s 6-0 run after drawing a foul on Richardson and hitting both shots at the line. Richardson got even, grabbing his own miss and putting it back in the following possession. Amos continued to grow the lead after going one-for-two at the stripe for a nine-point advantage. 

Dotson sent Dockery to the line following a Tavarez miss, where he made both. Dockery found himself at the line once more after drawing a foul on Glazkov, only hitting one. Moore followed with a successful drive to the basket, and Amos added on with a three at the top of the key to lead 55-44.

Johnson drew another shooting foul on Dotson, hitting both. Johnson shrank Loyola’s lead down to seven on a floater, but Dotson undid his work on a corner 3-pointer. Marshall bounced back with a three for La Salle. Richardson rattled in two free throws a minute later to bring the lead up to nine.

Third-year Explorer forward Max Lipacis drew a foul after rebounding a Loyola miss, but a loose-ball foul on his missed foul shot sent Ola-Joseph to the line who converted one, but a Glazkov offensive rebound gave Moore the ball, where he spun inside for the score and a 63-51 advantage. 

A blocking foul sent Johnson to the line for La Salle, where he hit both. Moore drew a shooting foul on Walker, missing the first and making the second. Walker found his way to the line for La Salle, making one. Rubin drew a foul on the next possession, but airballed the shot wide left. 

Another foul by La Salle sent Rubin to the line as they entered the double bonus. Rubin missed both but grabbed the rebound, leading to Amos missing a shot at the buzzer. A Moore steal led to two foul shots from Anderson after a hard foul on his dunk attempt. Anderson missed both, but Rubin snagged the rebound and Ola-Jospeh finished a three-point play.

Another La Salle miss marked two minutes since their last basket, as Moore finished a successful trip to the line. A technical foul on Marshall gave Ola-Joseph two more makes at the line for a 71-54 Loyola lead.

A goaltend on Rubin gave Johnson two, as Moore dropped the inbound out of bounds to give the Explorers possession. A Strand 3-pointer cut the Rambler lead to 12 as La Salle called a timeout. 

Loyola spread the ball around before Ola-Joseph dunked the ball, ruled too late as the shot clock expired. La Salle missed a three as Glazkov threw the ball away. Johnson sank a jump shot to make it 71-61 with 31.6 seconds left, the Explorers taking another timeout.

The Ramblers ran down the clock to three seconds as Walker’s half-court heave at the buzzer missed for a 71-61 Loyola win as they moved to 6-18.

Valentine spoke on how Loyola can use “the why” and “the process” to carry this momentum into the remainder of the season.

“You don’t just wake up the day of the game, or you don’t just show up to the game and go ‘Oh, I feel like winning today,’” Valentine said. “The process is why you win, and so we were really talking about having a growth mindset, about leaving no doubt every time we take the floor, about how much we want to be there, about how much we want to win, about how bought in we are to our team’s culture and identity.”

Loyola heads back on the road next, heading to Davidson, N.C., to face Davidson College Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. Streaming will be available on CBS Sports Network.