Tavarez Hail Mary Gives Men’s Basketball First Season Win

Loyola men’s basketball opened the regular season with a 91-88 win against Cleveland State University Nov. 3. Third-year center Miles Rubin, second-year guard Kayde Dotson and third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez all scored a team high 16 points for the Ramblers while Cleveland State’s second-year forward Dayan Nessah dropped a game high 25. 

This was the first regular season game without Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM in attendance to lead the opening prayer, something Rubin said the team is still adjusting to. 

“We’re still adjusting about the loss of Sister Jean,” Rubin said. “We all miss her. We wish she was still here.” 

The Vikings came into Gentile with an entirely new roster, something which has become more frequent in the transfer portal era of college basketball. Head coach Drew Valentine said this was an added challenge to the scouting reports and video used to prepare the team for a game. 

“We do so much with preparation, we do so much with scouting, and we had an idea of how they were going to play, but we didn’t ‘know’ know how they were going to play,” Valentine said. 

After Rubin won the opening tipoff and scored the first points of the game on a dunk, Cleveland State went on a perfect run over the first four minutes of play. Nessah hit two layups and a three, and third-year Vikings forward Josiah Harris scored on a jumper and a 3-pointer. 

In the same time period, Dotson made a 3-pointer, Rubin slammed another dunk and fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Joseph made three at the line, giving the Vikings a 14-10 lead at the first media timeout. 

After a Rubin layup, Tavarez snagged the lead for the Ramblers with back-to-back 3-pointers. A layup by Nessah was countered with a three from Dotson, with the Ramblers leading the Vikings 21-16. 

Cleveland State’s redshirt second-year guard Kamari Jones closed the gap after making three free throw attempts, but a layup from fourth-year center Alexander Richardson kept the game in Loyola’s favor. 

Nessah and Harris added two points each, putting the game back in the hands of the Vikings. A 3-pointer from Jones added cushion to the Cleveland State lead, even as fourth-year guard Kymany Houinsou made one at the line. 

Rubin floated the ball into the net, and redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore stole the next Cleveland State possession and scored, putting the Ramblers back into the win column by a point. 

Fourth-year Vikings guard Tre Beard tied the game at 29 with a free throw, but the tie was short-lived as Ola-Joseph did the same. A 3-pointer by Cleveland State’s fourth-year guard Foster Wonders put the advantage back to the Vikings at 32-30. 

First-year guard Chuck Love III scored his first official collegiate points on a layup, and Rubin recorded his first block of the night on the Vikings’ next possession. Ola-Joseph made two free throws to give the Ramblers a two-point lead. 

Jones and Dotson traded threes twice, keeping the gap at two. Rubin extended the Loyola lead with two at the line before Harris cancelled them out on his own trip. 

Cleveland State’s fourth-year guard Jaidon Lipscomb was fouled on a 3-pointer and completed the four-point play to bring the game back to the Vikings at 44-42.

Ola-Joseph tied the game with a layup, which the Ramblers held on to for just under two minutes as Nessah was fouled and made both attempts at the line. 

Love III returned the lead to Loyola after making three at the line. Harris and Ola-Joseph traded threes before Nessah made two at the line, sending the teams into halftime with Cleveland State on top 51-50. 

Rubin opened the second half with a layup, which was quickly counteracted with a jumper from Harris. Moore added two at the line, and Dotson hit a three, giving Loyola a quick 57-53 lead. 

After two made at the line by Nessah, Love III drained his first of three consecutive 3-pointers, erupting the student section into a “We love Chuck” chant. 

Love III said the student section positively impacted his first collegiate game. 

“My first time playing in Gentile — it was energetic,” Love III said. “It was amazing. The fans, the support — we definitely felt that on the court.”

In between Love III’s threes, Nessah scored two more free throws, and Harris sent in a layup. Third-year Vikings guard Chevalier Emery made a layup, which Dotson overtook with a three-point play, keeping the Ramblers ahead 69-61. 

Two minutes of scoreless play went on before Harris broke through with a layup, instantly cancelled by a Moore layup. On Loyola’s next possession, Houinsou slammed in a dunk, which Wonders responded to with a layup. 

Richardson and Beard traded field goals, prompting another two minutes of scoreless play. Tavarez and Wonders each scored a 3-pointer to end the drought. 

A layup by Moore gave the Ramblers a 10-point advantage over the Vikings. Two made at the line by Beard, a Harris jumper and a successful trip from Cleveland State’s Preist Ryan shrank Loyola’s lead to four. 

Beard’s 3-pointer and Nessah’s layup turned the score back to the Vikings and prompted a Loyola timeout. 

Rubin hit a dunk before making two at the line to give the Ramblers some breathing room, but Beard silenced them with a 3-pointer, tying the score at 84. 

With 43 seconds to play, Moore fouled Beard. He made both at the line to give Cleveland State the game back. A miss from Moore gave the Vikings possession, which Dotson stole. Valentine called a timeout with 20 seconds left —  the Ramblers having possession. 

Tavarez subbed into the game and immediately drained a 3-pointer. He was fouled on the shot and made the subsequent and-one, putting the Ramblers ahead. 

Nessah’s final layup missed the net, but on an attempt to make another block, Rubin was called for goaltending, automatically giving Cleveland State the tying two points. 

A missed three from Dotson forced a Loyola timeout. With possession of the ball, Moore threw an inbound pass to an open Tavarez, silencing Gentile Arena.

Tavarez’s three-point shot traveled through the net with 0.5 seconds remaining, giving the Ramblers the 91-88 win. 

Credit for the shot not only goes to Tavarez, but to the coaching staff, who, according to Valentine, pushed him to put Tavarez back in the game. 

“I got to give my staff credit on that, we got to give [Tavarez] credit,” Valentine said. “Sitting on the bench the whole time, I called his number, he comes in and drains two threes to win us a game. Absolutely incredible.” 

The Ramblers remain home for their next matchup against Mercyhurst University Thursday, Nov. 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. and can be streamed on Marquee Sports Network.