The Ramblers remain undefeated in their opening week in Gentile.
The Ramblers remain undefeated in their opening week in Gentile.
Loyola men’s basketball defeated the University of West Georgia 76-53 in their final game of opening week Nov. 5. Third-year guard Dayan Nessah led the Ramblers with 15 points, while fifth-year guard Jayden Dawson and fourth-year center Jason Schofield trailed with 12 points a piece.
Schofield started the first half with a layup in the paint and followed with a dunk off a turnover from Wolves redshirt second-year guard Chas Lewless. Fourth-year guard Guillaume Grotzinger nabbed the ball off Lewless, giving Nessah a chance for a layup. A minute later, Grotzinger netted a layup before Nessah landed a jumper for a 10-0 Loyola lead.
Wolves redshirt second-year power forward Kenneth Chime got a tip-in to put West Georgia on the board, but third-year center Malick Diallo responded immediately with a jumper in the paint. Schofield popped back-to-back layups before second-year guard Nic Anderson netted a three.
Almost a minute passed without play, but Lewless broke the ice with consecutive 3-pointers. Diallo netted a fastbreak layup, and put up another a minute later. A three from West Georgia redshirt second-year guard and forward Louis Hutchinson was followed with a layup by fifth-year forward Xavier Amos to put the Ramblers up 25-11.
Chime put up a tip-in off his own rebound, and a minute later, Wolves third-year guard Juaquin Dixon netted a three. Schofield’s tip-in was negated with a fastbreak dunk from Chime. Dawson shot two 3-pointers before gaining a technical foul for poor sportsmanship, sending third-year guard Justin Redmond to the line for two successful free throws.
Hutchinson netted a 3-pointer, and Chime continued the momentum with another fastbreak dunk. Dawson and Schofield responded with a layup and a jumper, respectively. Hutchinson scored on a jumper but got called on a foul, putting Nessah at the line for two good free throws.
A layup by Nessah was followed with a netted and-one attempt off a foul on Wolves third-year forward Aleix Sempere. Diallo fouled less than a minute later, putting Hutchinson at the line for two buckets to end the half with Loyola in the lead 42-29.
Dawson said the team came into the second half with the same intensity as the first.
“I felt we were getting overlooked,” Dawson said. “Sometimes we weren’t knocking them down, but I think we did a good job executing, knocking down shots.”
Chime started the second half with a foul, and Nessah went to the line for two successful shots. Dawson followed up with a 3-pointer, and Grotzinger netted a layup in the paint. Wolves redshirt third-year forward David Simon and Dixon responded with a jumper each, but Grotzinger negated with a 3-pointer.
Lewless put up a jumper before Chime was called on a foul, allowing Dawson to make his second of two free throws. Over a minute of stale play continued — Diallo stopped the bleeding with a layup in the paint but was called on a foul. Chime sank both free throws, but the Ramblers maintained a 55-37 lead.
Third-year guard Dayton Williams fouled, putting Wolves redshirt second-year forward Xavier Shegog at the line, where he made the second of two shots. Nessah responded with a layup and a foul to put Hutchinson on the path for three netted free throws.
A steal by Shegog gave Hutchinson a chance at a 3-pointer, and Chime followed with a layup and a dunk to shrink the lead 57-48.
Loyola regrouped with a rebound and tip-in from Nessah and a 3-pointer by fifth-year guard Ryan Agarwal. After a minute of light offensive plays, a foul on Diallo put Wolves third-year guard Justin Redmond up for a good free throw.
Redmond got called on a foul of his own, allowing Grotzinger to send in two good free throws. A foul on Chime put fifth-year guard Donald Hand Jr. at the line a minute later for a bucket. Second-year guard Chris Jeffrey followed up with a fastbreak jumper.
Chime’s foul put Jeffrey at the line, where he made both buckets. Diallo continued with a jumper, but Dawson’s foul put Wolves redshirt second-year forward Marshal Destremau at the line, where he made both free throws. Redmond recorded a foul, and Jeffrey went back to the line for two buckets.
A foul on Hand Jr. put Destremau at the line for two successful free throws, and the game finished with a 3-pointer by Hand Jr. to secure the 76-53 victory for Loyola.
Head Coach Drew Valentine said the team has to bring the same mentality to their away games as they do to Gentile Arena.
“Defense travels, shooting might not always travel,” Valentine said. “We have to have that mindset as we are on the road. And also, the mindset can’t be winning two games, but that it’s going to be one game at a time.”
The Ramblers start a road trip in Air Force Academy, Colo. to compete against the United States Air Force Academy Nov. 11. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game can be streamed on Mountain West+
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