Men’s Basketball Advances to A10 Semifinal After 72-64 Win Over SLU

The Loyola men’s basketball team defeated Saint Louis University 72-64 in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 conference tournament in Washington D.C.. The victory marked the first postseason win for the Ramblers since joining the conference in 2022. 

Saint Louis fourth-year guard Isaiah Swope led both teams with 30 points, while fourth-year guard Des Watson propelled the Ramblers with 24. Head coach Drew Valentine said Watson’s performance this season should’ve got him a spot on one of the all-conference teams. 

“I don’t know if people watch Loyola basketball or watch the players in this league,” Valentine said. “But there is no way that Des Watson is not one of the 10 to 15 best players in this league. It’s ridiculous that he didn’t make it.”

The game was a back and forth affair at the gates, with buckets coming from SLU’s third-year forward Kalu Anya and Swope, and Loyola’s second-year center Miles Rubin, third-year guard Kymany Houinsou, Watson and graduate guard Sheldon Edwards Jr. Eventually the Ramblers sparked a 9-0 run to pull ahead 15-6. 

Redshirt fourth-year Billiken guard Gibson Jimerson and Watson traded layups and fourth-year forward Jalen DeLoach added a jumper, with the Ramblers doubling the Billikens at 19-8.

Saint Louis’ first-year guard Amari McCottry and Watson traded successful trips to the line, while Houinsou added his own free throw. A 3-pointer by first-year Billiken forward Dylan Warlick made it a 22-13 game. 

A steal turned into a layup for third-year guard Jayden Dawson — who was named to the all-conference second team — before a minute and a half scoring drought struck the floor. Warlick got things up and running again with a layup, which Edwards Jr. responded to with a 3-pointer to make it 27-15. 

Rubin’s second block of the night on McCottry was rebounded by Houinsou before Watson made two at the line. The teams went scoreless again for two minutes until Swope drained a three, followed by a layup by Anya. 

DeLoach completed a three-point play before Swope made a jumper and Jimerson took a steal all the way for a layup, forcing the Ramblers to call a timeout still ahead 34-26. 

Third-year SLU center Robbie Avila made one at the line, which Houinsou replicated on the following possession. Swope and Watson traded 3-pointers to end the half 38-30 in favor of the Ramblers. 

Anya opened the scoring in the second half with a layup, which was matched with a Dawson jumper. Houinsou’s layup on the next Loyola possession was cancelled out by another Swope three.

Avila added two at the line for the Billikens before Dawson and Swope traded jumpers. Watson completed a three-point play before draining a 3-pointer just over a minute later. 

DeLoach recorded a block and Avila added two more at the line. Two Warlick free throws balanced out a jumper by Edwards Jr., but a three by Dawson kept the Ramblers ahead 55-43. 

Swope took a successful trip to the line before Avila made a layup. Swope then forced a Rambler turnover and took it himself for a layup, prompting another Loyola timeout with nine minutes left to play and a 55-49 score. 

A scoreless minute passed before each team turned in multiple successful possessions. A Watson jumper and dunk by Houinsou maintained the Rambler lead, while two threes from Swope closed the gap to just four points at 59-55. 

DeLoach came through for the Ramblers and scored back-to-back layups, which were negated by an Avila 3-pointer and layup to make it 66-60. A foul on McCottry sent Watson to the line, where he made both with less than a minute remaining. Two more fouls by McCottry put him out of the game and added three more points for the Ramblers. 

Swope made a jumper with seven seconds remaining, but fouled Watson in the process, allowing him to make one at the line. 

As the final seconds ticked away the Ramblers reigned victorious, winning their first postseason game in the A10 conference and moving on to the semifinal round. 

Valentine said the team was extremely focused on their opening game, which helped them pull off a win and move forward in the tournament. 

“I gotta give our guys so much credit for the way they approached today,” Valentine said. “I thought we had so much pop, intensity, togetherness, execution, mental focus, all of that. From the beginning of the game, we just looked dialed in.” 

The Ramblers will face No. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth University in the semifinal round Saturday at 1 p.m. The Rams defeated the Ramblers early in conference play while Loyola was still contending with multiple injuries.

Now with a healthier squad, Valentine said all of his trust is with the team and 

“It’s gonna be tough,” Valentine said. “I think they’re an at-large bid team. I watched them play in the league all the time and they’ve got an experienced veteran group that really competes. We really have to match the competition level.”