Men’s Basketball Season Ends in Overtime Loss to Davidson

A Hail Mary 3-pointer from second-year guard Kayde Dotson brought the Loyola men’s basketball team into overtime against sixth-seeded Davidson College at the Atlantic 10 (A10) Conference Tournament. Despite holding on, the Ramblers fell to the Wildcats 64-59, ending their 2025-2026 season. 

Third-year center Miles Rubin led the charge for the Ramblers, dropping 20 points and picking up nine rebounds. Davidson’s second-year guard Roberts Blums scored 14 in the win. 

The Ramblers concluded their season with a 9-24 overall record, earning three of those wins in the last five games. Head coach Drew Valentine reflected on the rough season, and the optimism the team still had despite their record.

“With the adversity that we dealt with this year, it says a lot about the character of the individuals in the locker room with the way that those guys competed,” Valentine said. “I’m proud of my group. We made some memories and definitely will have a lot to improve on going into the next season.”

Davidson’s third-year guard Josh Scovens got on the board first with a floater. Fourth-year forward Xavier Amos responded with a 3-pointer to take the short-lived lead as Scovens scored a jumper on the next possession. 

Fourth-year center Alexander Richardson blocked an attempt from Davidson’s first-year forward and center Ian Platteeuw and drove all the way for a dunk to take a 5-4 lead. 

Third-year Wildcats guard Parker Friedrichsen drove in a layup and — after a minute-long scoring break — Scovens added one at the line to reclaim their lead over the Ramblers. 

Two minutes of scoreless play went by, which Richardson broke to tie the game at seven. Davidson’s fourth-year forward Sean Logan hit a layup, and Richardson immediately counteracted with another dunk, tying it at nine.

Richardson gave the Ramblers the lead with a jumper, and Rubin added on with one of his own. Davidson’s first-year guard Devin Brown closed the gap with a 3-pointer, and third-year forward JaQualon Roberts tied it at 13 with one at the line. 

Rubin reclaimed the lead for a short period with a hookshot, but Platteeuw recovered for the Wildcats with a jumper. Richardson continued cooking for Loyola with a layup, taking a 17-15 lead. 

Scovens tied the game with two at the line, before a three-point play from Rubin reclaimed the lead. Friedrichsen attempted to cancel it out on the next possession, but failed to make the and-one.

Two at the line from Dotson prompted a four minute scoring drought to end the first half. At the last second, however, Amos banked a jumper to go into halftime with a 24-19 lead over the Wildcats. 

Scovens started the second half with a hookshot, which Dotson canceled out with a three. Blums hit a three before Platteeuw stole a Loyola possession and found Blums, who missed a fast-break layup as Loyola called a timeout. 

Rubin and Platteeuw traded layups before a Rubin dunk to maintain the lead. Following one at the line from Friedrichsen, Valentine challenged an out-of-bounds call, believing the ball hit a Wildcat before going out of bounds. After review, the call was overturned to give the Ramblers the ball under their net, but an over-and-back violation resulted in a scoreless possession. 

The Ramblers increased their lead by four with two at the line from Rubin and a jumper from Amos. Blums completed a three-point play and Brown hit two at the line, inching the Wildcats closer at 35-32. 

Rubin drove in a layup before a Platteeuw tip in and a Blums three tied the game at 37. Richardson broke the tie with a layup, and second-year guard Daniil Glazkov made one at the line to keep the lead. Davidson’s third-year guard Sam Brown drove in a layup to make it a three point game, prompting a Rambler timeout. 

Logan hit a floater before stealing the next Loyola possession, finding Blums for a fast-break three. Another steal, this time from Scovens, found Blums again, but he missed the shot. Third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez hit consecutive 3-pointers to put the Ramblers back ahead at 48-44 at the last media timeout.

Scovens and Friedrichsen combined for three free throws. On Friedrichsen’s final miss, Scovens picked up the offensive rebound and passed out to Devin Brown, who drained a three to take the short-lived lead. Rubin answered on the next possession with a jumper, tying it at 50. 

Sam Brown made two at the line before Rubin completed a three-point play to keep the lead with the Ramblers. Devin Brown answered with a three with a minute-and-a-half remaining, taking a 55-53 advantage over Loyola. 

Devin Brown made one at the line with no Loyola timeouts remaining. After trying to find an opening around the court, Dotson shot from the top of the arc as time counted down. With 0.6 seconds remaining in regulation, Dotson’s 3-pointer went in to send the teams into overtime.

In overtime, the Ramblers were only able to make one shot — a three from Dotson — while the Wildcats made four. Logan drove in two layups, followed by a jumper from Scovens and a Blums layup, ending the Ramblers’ season with a 64-59 loss. 

Valentine said he’s looking forward to next season and building a stronger roster, with the hopeful return of key players like Rubin and Dotson, and more additions picked up in the transfer portal. 

“I think overall roster construction wasn’t good enough, regardless of if we were healthy or not,” Valentine said. “I just have a hard time not seeing this group being at minimum an upper half team.”