Second Half Slump Sends Men’s Basketball to Sixth Straight Loss Against St. Bonaventure

Loyola men’s basketball ended their two game road trip with an 84-70 loss to St. Bonaventure University Jan. 20, despite maintaining the lead throughout the majority of the game. Fourth-year forward Joshua Ola-Joseph scored his second consecutive 20-point game, while third-year Bonnies guard Darryl Simmons II carried with a game high 26 points. 

Third-year center Miles Rubin attempted to get the Ramblers on the board first by stealing St. Bonaventure’s opening possession, but he failed to connect on a jumper, and the Bonnies picked up the defensive rebound. Fourth-year forward Frank Mitchell scored the first points of the game for the Bonnies on a layup, followed by a Simmons II jumper a minute later. 

Rubin finally got the Ramblers on the board with a layup, and Ola-Joseph scored his first points of the night on a 3-pointer to give Loyola the lead. 

First-year guard Nic Anderson and Mitchell traded layups before fourth-year forward Xavier Amos made a three for a 10-6 Loyola advantage. 

Anderson made two at the line after being fouled by Mitchell before a minute of scoreless play. St. Bonaventure’s second-year forward Joseph Grahovac broke the drought with a layup, prompting another drought on the court. 

First-year Bonnies center Andrew Osasuyi slammed a dunk to end the cold-streak on the court and shrunk the Loyola lead to two. Anderson kept the lead with the Ramblers with a layup, as Grahovac shrank it again with a three. Rubin gave Loyola a three point lead with a layup before fouling fourth-year guard Cayden Charles on the next possession, where he made both attempts at the line. 

Another minute-long scoring drought ended with two at the line from Amos before Ola-Joseph made a three, icing the court for another minute as shots failed to fall for both teams. 

Mitchell broke through with two at the line as Anderson and Simmons II traded threes before another brief scoring drought. Mitchell and Amos each score a layup before another plethora of misses from both teams. 

Rubin ended the drought with a layup, and third-year guard Deywilk Tavarez added on with a three. Fourth-year center Alexander Richardson and Mitchell traded field goals, giving the Ramblers a 33-24 lead with just under four minutes left to play in the first half. 

St. Bonaventure’s fourth-year forward Daniel Edbuniwe scored a layup, which was outdone by another Ola-Joseph three. Redshirt third-year Bonnies guard Dasonte Bowen and Rubin traded layups before Ola-Joseph added one at the line, before sinking another three. 

Charles hit a jumper with four seconds remaining in the half, sending the teams into the break with Loyola leading 42-30. 

Ola-Joseph got the Ramblers on the board a minute into the second half with a dunk, followed by a Charles 3-pointer. Anderson answered with a layup and — a minute later — Simmons II hit a 3-pointer for a 10-point St. Bonaventure deficit. 

A three from Egbuniwe prompted a Loyola timeout, now leading by only single digits, Egbuniwe made two at the line to decrease the lead more. Second-year guard Daniil Glazkov gave some momentum back to the Ramblers with a three, now leading 49-41. 

Fourth-year guard Caleb Reese scored his first points of the night on a jumper before Mitchell picked up a Bowen miss and tipped it into the net. One at the line from Amos, coupled with an Anderson layup gave the Ramblers their 11-point lead back. 

Charles made two at the line before Grahovac drained a fastbreak three off of a steal by Osasuyi. Tavarez answered with a three of his own before Simmons II cancelled it out with a shot beyond the arc. 

Bowen made one at the line to decrease Loyola’s lead to five before Simmons II shrank it even lower with a three. Simmons II kept his momentum going, tying the game at 57 with two free throws. 

On another trip to the line, Simmons II took the lead for the Bonnies with two free throws, and Charles cooked with another three. A minute-and-a-half later, Simmons II made a 3-pointer of his own, claiming a 65-57 lead over the Ramblers. 

Two more from Simmons II at the line gave the Bonnies a 10-point advantage, which Tavarez easily shrank with a four-point play.  

Consecutive field goals from Mitchell and Grahovac were met with a successful trip to the line from Ola-Joseph. Simmons II and Ola-Joseph traded threes before Anderson and Bowen each made a layup to make it a 76-68 game with two-and-a-half minutes to play. 

Charles and Mitchell each made field goals before successful trips from Mitchell and Reese. With a minute left to go, Charles scored the final two points of the night with two at the line, ending the game in favor of the Bonnies 84-70. 

The Ramblers return to Gentile Arena Saturday, Jan. 24 to face Duquesne University. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., and the game can be streamed on Marquee Sports Network.