Men’s Basketball Drops Second Consecutive Game to San Francisco

The Loyola men’s basketball team fell to the University of San Francisco 85-71 Dec. 17, claiming their ninth loss this season. Fourth-year forward Xavier Amos led the charge for the Ramblers, dropping 17 points, while San Francisco’s second-year guard Tyrone Riley IV scored a game high 22 in the Dons’ win. 

Third-year center Miles Rubin got the game started for the Ramblers with a jumper, which was immediately countered with a 3-pointer from Riley IV. Fourth-year guard Kymany Houinsou and Riley IV traded jumpers before two misses from redshirt third-year guard Justin Moore. 

San Francisco’s graduate guard Vukasin Masic hit a three to keep the Dons ahead by four. Houinsou attempted to close the gap with a layup, but a jumper from third-year forward Mookie Cook and a 3-pointer from fourth-year forward Guillermo Diaz Graham grabbed a seven-point lead for the Dons. 

Just under a minute of scoreless play ended with a jumper from San Francisco’s first-year guard Legend Smiley. Moore drew a foul and was only able to score one at the line before third-year Dons’ guard Ryan Beasley hit a layup to increase San Francisco’s lead to double digits. 

Second-year guard Kayde Dotson added two at the line before consecutive San Francisco scoring possessions — a layup from third-year forward Junjie Wang and a steal and score from third-year forward David Fuchs — returning the Dons to their double-digit lead. 

Dotson and third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez each made a layup, which was met with a Wang 3-pointer. Another brief period of scoreless play plagued the court, which Amos broke with a successful trip to the line and a layup before trading threes with Masic, giving the Dons a 27-20 advantage. 

Riley IV picked up a defensive rebound off a Houinsou miss and took it down the court for a fastbreak 3-pointer to reclaim the double-digit lead for the Dons. Dotson’s successful trip to the line was counteracted with a Masic jumper, and Amos’ trip was cancelled out with a Fuchs dunk. 

Dotson hit a layup before two good free throws from Fuchs, which Houinsou attempted to cancel out, but he only made one at the line. Riley IV kept his streak going with a 3-pointer, and Fuchs added on a free throw for a 40-27 lead over the Ramblers. 

Moore and Fuchs traded field goals before two turnovers — one from each team. Houinsou closed the gap with a free throw before Dotson set up Rubin for a dunk, prompting a San Francisco timeout, still leading 42-32. 

Two Fuchs free throws were negated by a layup from Amos before San Francisco’s second-year guard and forward Veniamin Abosi hit a three to maintain the lead. A layup from Dotson kept it close, but a last-second three from Riley IV went in, sending the teams into halftime with San Francisco ahead 50-36. 

Diaz Graham scored the first point of the second half on a lone free throw after being fouled by Rubin. Diaz Graham then stole the possession from Houinsou and found Beasley, who scored on a jumper. A Dotson turnover gave Riley IV a chance, where he scored a 3-pointer, now taking a 20-point lead over the Ramblers — who had yet to score in the second half. 

Riley IV kept the Dons’ momentum going with two made at the line before Houinsou finally got the Ramblers on the board with a successful trip to the line. Amos added on with a good trip of his own, which was countered by a Masic three. 

Amos and Beasley traded layups before Dotson added one at the line. Amos recorded a steal from Beasley and drew a foul, failing to make both shots at the free-throw line. Moore kept the Ramblers in the game with a three-point play, and Amos shrank the lead to 15-points with a layup. 

Fuchs’ one at the line was countered with a layup from Houinsou. Abosi and Tavarez traded threes, and Fuchs scored a tip-in to keep San Francisco ahead 69-53. 

Misses and fouls plagued the court for over a minute before Fuchs was able to break through and score two at the line, which Moore immediately cancelled out with a jumper. Fuchs got one of his points back with a made free throw, and Houinsou minimized the San Francisco lead to 16 with one of his own. 

Riley IV broke another stale period on the court with a 3-pointer before Moore took a successful trip to the line. Abosi’s one free throw wasn’t enough for Moore, who went on to complete a three-point play. Fuchs answered Moore with a jumper to make it a 78-61 game. 

A Rubin layup was met with a successful trip to the line from Beasley to keep the scoring gap at 17. Dotson responded with two free throws of his own before first-year guard Chuck Love III failed to complete a steal and score. 

Abosi made one at the line and missed a layup on the next San Francisco possession, allowing Moore to pick up the rebound and go coast to coast for a layup, prompting a San Francisco timeout, still leading 81-67. 

Fuchs only made one at the line before Smiley drove in a layup. After recording a block, Rubin found fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Joseph, who hit a three on the fastbreak, decreasing San Francisco’s lead to 14. 

San Francisco’s first-year guard Weilun Zhao and Loyola fourth-year guard Caleb Reese each made one at the line, ending the game in favor of the Dons 85-71. 

Head coach Drew Valentine said he was proud of the fight the Ramblers had, despite not playing their best in the first half. 

“Our intensity wasn’t where it needed to be in the first half, and the second half had a lot of mental errors,” Valentine said. “That said, I have to give the guys credit. They found a way to compete and even when San Francisco went on runs, I thought we responded better than we have some other times this season.” 

The Ramblers remain in California to close out their non-conference slate against Santa Clara University Dec. 20. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. and can be streamed on BallerTV.