Nov. 16, 2007
Box Score | Quotes
CHICAGO - Loyola University Chicago (2-1) nearly pulled off an improbably rally from a 13-point deficit in the second half, but came up short in a gut-wrenching 63-61 loss to Western Michigan (2-2) at the Gentile Center tonight. The loss is only the Ramblers' second in the last 17 games versus non-conference foes at the Gentile Center.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that featured eight lead changes and four ties. Western Michigan broke a 23-23 tie by going on a 9-2 run late in the period to open up a 32-25 advantage. Loyola cut the lead to four, at 32-28, but a pair of foul shots by David Kool gave the Broncos a 34-28 lead at the half.
A 7-0 Bronco run that began five minutes into the second half gave the visitors their largest lead of the night, 47-34, with 12:45 remaining. Loyola was able to whittle the lead down to six, at 53-47, but WMU built the lead back up to 10 points, 57-47, with 6:12 left to play.
From there, Loyola would score 10 of the game's next 12 points to slice the Western Michigan lead to 59-57 with 2:01 left. J.R. Blount's basket with 1:24 remaining brought the Ramblers within a basket (61-59), but Joe Reitz's bucket with 18 seconds left gave the Broncos a four-point cushion, 63-59.
Blount's jumper with 12 seconds remaining cut the deficit to two, at 63-61, to set up a wild finish. Blount deflected Derek Drews' in-bounds pass under Loyola's basket but the Ramblers were unable to convert a couple of scoring chances in a scrum under the basket. Shawntes Gary missed a pair of foul shots with three seconds left setting up one final possession for the Ramblers, but Tracy Robinson's shot from half court glanced off the backboard as Western Michigan hung on for the win.
Blount scored a game-high 21 points and added four assists and five steals. Robinson was the only other Rambler to reach double-figures, as he dropped in 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, off the bench. Cortney Horton came off the bench to provide a lift as he tallied a career-best nine points.
Reitz led Western Michigan with 17 points and nine boards.
Loyola is off until Nov. 24 when it travels to Purdue.
