Fourth-year Philip Alston returned to the court after missing four games due to a calf injury.
Fourth-year Philip Alston returned to the court after missing four games due to a calf injury.
The Loyola men’s basketball team won a tough defensive battle against Harvard University in Gentile Arena Saturday afternoon, defeating the Crimson 75-53.
Fourth-year Philip Alston returned to the court after missing four games due to a calf injury obtained against the University of Illinois Chicago Nov. 14 and led the Ramblers in points with 16.
“Having to sit and watch a full game from the bench definitely gave me a different perspective and to see what’s right and what’s wrong,” Alston said. “Just being more meticulous in how I am and how I approach stuff. I feel like I showed that today.”
First-year center Miles Rubin won the tipoff for a Loyola possession which ended prematurely after graduate guard Braden Norris mishandled the ball.
The Ramblers went on an unanswered eight-point run with scores by Alston, Rubin, third-year guard Des Watson and graduate forward Dame Adelekun. Harvard’s first-year guard Malik Mack halted the streak when he made a driving layup, making the game 8-2 going into an official timeout.
Graduate guard Greg Dolan was fouled on a layup attempt and made both free throws. Second-year guard Jayden Dawson stole a bad pass from Mack and sent it to Norris, who sunk a three-pointer to increase Loyola’s lead to 11.
Adelekun drew a foul by Harvard’s second-year forward Chison Okpara after a big defensive play. Okpara shrunk the Crimson’s lead to two at the line. Alston picked up a rebound off a missed Okpara jump shot and sent it to second-year guard Jalen Quinn who sunk a three off a fast break to make the game 16-4.
Dawson made a three-pointer jump shot off a turnover which Okpara responded to with a similar three and a layup to help creep the Crimson back into the game. Rubin came back with a layup to keep the difference at 12.
Out of an official timeout, Adelekun and Norris both pressured the Harvard offense forcing multiple missed shots. Adelekun picked up offensively, scoring three-straight layups to put the Ramblers ahead 28-9.
Dawson made Harvard offense work for every point after getting called for a foul blocking a shot by third-year guard Tyler Simon, who made two free throws for the Crimson. Second-year guard Chandler Piggé converted an and-one opportunity to shrink the Rambler lead by three.
Rubin grabbed two offensive rebounds when Watson and graduate guard Patrick Mwamba both missed shots before Dolan finally sank a three-pointer. Watson sent in a three off a pass by Dolan to increase Loyola’s lead to 22.
Mack hit a three-pointer for the Crimson with three minutes left in the half, and Dawson responded with a three-pointer of his own right away. Adelekun rebounded a missed hook shot and assisted Alston on a layup. Mack had a successful trip to the line, scoring on both free-throw attempts after being fouled by Alston.
With a minute and 30 seconds left, Okpara tossed in a layup through a Rubin foul, but failed to convert the and-one missing at the line. Rubin picked up another foul on first-year forward Thomas Batties II, who added two more for Harvard.
Mack, Harvard’s second leading scorer, faked the Loyola defense and made another jump shot in the paint while being fouled by Mwamba, adding an additional point to the score.
Norris let the shot clock run all the way down and in the last seconds made a final three-pointer, sending the Ramblers into halftime ahead 42-24.
The second half started rough for Loyola as they were whistled for seven fouls within the first five minutes. The Crimson added five points from these trips to the line. The Ramblers stayed on top offensively with a layup from Adelekun and a jump shot from Alston.
Both Watson and Quinn secured layups and Batties II made a three-pointer to send Harvard into a timeout down 52-34.
With 12 minutes left, Mwamba stole the ball and sped down the court for a hard slam dunk. First-year guard Xavier Nesbitt responded with a turnaround jump shot to keep the Ramblers just shy of a 20 point lead going into an official timeout.
Third-year guard Denham Wojick and Nesbitt teamed up with a hook shot and three-pointer to shrink the Loyola lead to 13 at the 10 minute mark. Watson would break the mini-run by sinking a three-pointer before a 30 second timeout called by Loyola.
A steal from Norris was sent to Watson for a missed three, drawing a foul in the process making one of two shots at the line. Alston hit a second-chance layup after rebounding a missed shot by Norris.
Okpara scored on an and-one opportunity from a foul by Dolan. Norris quickly drew a foul and made both at the line, reaching the 20 point lead once again. Okpara rebounded his own miss and made a layup which was responded with a layup by Watson to put the Ramblers up 64-44.
Mack stripped Adelekun and hit Batties II, who made a fast-break layup before another Harvard timeout.
Alston picked up another foul on Okpara, who made one at the line. Adelekun redeemed himself on the next possession, making a layup with just over five minutes left in the game.
Piggé and Alston both sent in layups for their respective teams before Adelekun earned his fifth foul, sending him to the bench for the rest of the game. Okpara sent two more in off the foul, shrinking the Loyola lead to 17 before the last official timeout was called.
Alston electrified Gentile Arena when he received an alley-oop pass of an inbounds play and posterized Batties II. After being subbed out with less than two minutes left, Alston received a standing ovation from the Gentile Arena crowd, who celebrated his successful return to the court.
Fourth-year Sheldon Edwards made a three before redshirt second-year guard and forward Ben Schwieger fouled first-year forward Luca Ace-Nasteski who made one of two. Redshirt second-year Will Smythe picked up a defensive rebound and ran out the clock to secure the win for the Ramblers 75-53.
Post game, head coach Drew Valentine said he thought the team pushed through and fought well as a team finally with a full roster again.
“Just having a full roster is awesome,” Valentine said. “Our depth really shined through tonight, and everybody had moments where they were really effective.”
The Ramblers will play next in Gentile Arena against Goshen College Saturday, Dec. 9 at 5 p.m. The game can be streamed on NBC Sports Chicago+.
Featured image by Krisjanis Kaugars | The Phoenix
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