Mercyhurst, Blunt Smokes Men’s Basketball

Loyola men’s basketball dropped their second regular season game against Mercyhurst University Nov. 6 in an offensive struggle. The Ramblers shot 37.7% from the field and only capitalized on eight of 26 3-pointer attempts. 

Despite the large drought, redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore took control for the Ramblers, scoring 25 points. Mercyhurst’s graduate guard Bernie Blunt III recorded the most points in the game, tallying 27. 

Head coach Drew Valentine said there’s a lot of work he needs to do with the team on the defensive end to prepare for the next game. 

“I got to evaluate defensively with what I’m doing and what we’re doing is putting us in the best position to be successful,” Valentine said.

Third-year center Miles Rubin opened the game, winning the tipoff and slamming a dunk to get the Ramblers on the board. A turnover by graduate guard Dominick Harris led to Blunt tying the game at two with a layup.

A minute plagued by turnovers and fouls for the Ramblers gave second-year Laker forward Qadir Martin the ball, scoring on a layup to take the advantage. A minute later, third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez drained a 3-pointer to give Loyola the advantage back. 

On the Lakers’ next possession, second-year forward Mykolas Ivanauskas grabbed an offensive board and sent the ball into the net for a 6-5 Mercyhurst lead going into the first media timeout. 

Fourth-year Mercyhurst guard Christian Gamble and first-year guard Chuck Love III each made one at the line before fourth-year guard Joshua Ola-Joseph made a three. Second-year Laker guard Deshaun Jackson tied the game at nine with a layup. 

Rubin erupted Gentile Arena with a dunk to reclaim the lead and added two more on a successful trip to the line. Just under a minute of scoreless play went by before Ivanauskas sent in a layup, narrowing Loyola’s lead to 13-11. 

After having his pass stolen by Ivanauskas, fourth-year forward Alexander Richardson blocked a shot attempt from Ivanauskas — his first block of the night. Martin blocked an attempt from fourth-year guard Kymany Houinsou. 

With the ball still in Loyola’s possession, Houinsou missed a three, and Rubin got the offensive rebound and dunked the ball just as the shot clock ran out. The play went under review, and the officials reversed the basket. 

A Martin layup tied the game at 13, followed shortly after by a layup from Jackson to retake the lead. After stealing the Loyola possession, Jackson sent in a dunk for a four-point Mercyhurst advantage. 

The Rambler drought continued, with Jackson making one at the line and Martin draining a three. With under six minutes to play in the first half, Rubin sent in a jumper — Loyola’s first points in seven minutes. 

Blunt and Ola-Joseph each made one at the line, and Blunt and Rubin each scored — a three for Blunt and a layup for Rubin. Martin and Tavarez traded 3-pointers before Mercyhurst’s second-year guard Jake Lemelman drove to the net for a layup, putting Mercyhurst ahead 30-21. 

Moore made two at the line before trading layups with Ivanauskas. Moore and Rubin each added a layup, closing the Lakers’ lead to 32-27 and prompting a Mercyhurst timeout. 

Blunt added two more at the line to send the teams into halftime, with the Lakers ahead 34-27. 

The Ramblers entered the second half on a scoreless drought with the Lakers making three buckets — credited to a layup by Blunt, a Lemelman jumper and a wide-open layup from third-year forward Cameron Johnson. 

The first points for Loyola came from a free throw by Harris almost six minutes in. 

Jackson made two at the line before adding a jumper, which Moore combated with a layup. Mercyhurst’s graduate guard Kaden Fuhrmann drained a three to increase the Laker lead to 47-30. 

Moore completed a three-point play after being fouled on a layup, then drained a 3-pointer on Loyola’s next possession. With half of the second half remaining, Lemelman’s layup was evened out by two at the line from Ola-Joseph. 

Two minutes of scoreless play went by before Moore made a free throw. A layup by Ivanauskas was matched with two at the line by Ola-Joseph, but a Blunt 3-pointer kept the lead with the Lakers at 54-41. 

Ola-Joseph made two more at the line, and Rubin slammed a dunk and a layup. Blunt and Dotson traded 3-pointers before Blunt came through on a driving layup and subsequent and-one opportunity. 

Blunt made one at the line before Lemelman and Ola-Joseph traded threes, keeping Mercyhurst ahead at 64-53 with under two minutes remaining. 

Moore added three more points with a layup and and-one as Blunt made one at the line. Two misses from Tavarez and Rubin came before a Martin layup. Moore went on a scoring run, adding another three-point play and 3-pointer, while Blunt added four more at the line. 

A Moore 3-pointer tallied the final Loyola points of the night, coming with just 19 seconds left. Ola-Joseph fouled Blunt, allowing him to score two more at the line and ending the game in Mercyhurst’s favor at 73-65. 

While also figuring out what he needs to work on with the team, Valentine said he gives credit to the Mercyhurst coaching staff after giving everything they had on the floor after a tough loss against Northwestern University earlier in the week. 

“They came in here confident — quick turn around for them,” Valentine said. “They recovered, bounced back and got to give the coaching staff credit. They really outcoached me.” 

The Ramblers play next Sunday, Nov. 9, in Hoffman Estates, Ill., for a neutral site game against the University of North Texas. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.