CHICAGO, Ill. (January 31, 2023)
 
In Short…
Philip Alston banked in a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime but the Loyola University Chicago (7-14, 1-8 A-10) men's basketball team was unable to carry the momentum into extra period, dropping an 85-81overtime heartbreaker on the road at Dayton Tuesday evening.
 
Philip Alston scored a team-high 22 points while Bryce Golden scored 15 and Braden Norris added 14.
 
The Ramblers, who trailed by as many as eight points in the first half, used an 18-6 run to open the second half and build a six-point lead. Dayton would battle back and regain the lead in the closing minutes before Alston's heroics sent the game to overtime. In the extra frame, however, Dayton would outscore Loyola by a 13-9 margin to close out the victory.
 
How It Happened
Both teams opened the game shooting above 80% from the field, with Dayton taking a 16-12 lead into the first media timeout. Alston was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field to start, including a banked-in 3-pointer, while Bryce Golden connected from beyond the arc and opened the game 2-for-2 from the field.
 
The hot shooting would quickly come to an end as both teams would go over three minutes without a point and Dayton holding a 20-15 advantage.
 
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Alston and Golden pulled the Ramblers within a pair at 27-25 with just under seven minutes left in the opening half. The triples, part of a stretch where the Ramblers connected on six consecutive field goals, gave Alston and Golden 10 points apiece in the half.
 
Dayton would use a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead before Braden Norris drove into the lane for two with seconds left on the clock to cut the halftime deficit to six at 40-34. Despite outshooting the Flyers 53.8% to 517%, the Ramblers found themselves in a halftime hole thanks to a 20-point first-half effort by Dayton's Toumani Camara.
 
Five-straight by the Ramblers to open the second half pulled the visitors within one early into the start of the second half. The Loyola surge continued as the Ramblers went on a 14-3 run to take a 48-43 lead, the team's first lead since 4-3 in the early moments of the first half.
 
Loyola would maintain an edge over the Flyers thanks to lockdown defense, as Dayton was held to just 35.7% shooting over the first 11+ minutes of the second half.
 
After Dayton cut the Rambler lead to two, Jalen Quinn knocked down a critical 3-pointer from the corner to push the Loyola advantage back to five at 62-57 with 6:38 remaining in the contest.
 
Dayton would battle back and regain the lead at 67-64 with 5:36 remaining thanks to a 7-0 run over 1:22. The Flyer lead would grow to five before Alston muscled one through traffic to bring Loyola within three at 69-66 with 3:12 to play.
 
Down six with less than a minute to play, Norris hit a 3-pointer with 41 seconds left to pull the Ramblers within three. Alston then had a block on the ensuing possession to give Loyola possession. The junior then banked in a triple from the left corner with 0.4 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
 
In the extra period Dayton would outscore Loyola by a 13-8 margin to claim the victory.
 
Inside The Box Score

• Tuesday marked Loyola's third overtime game of the season. Loyola defeated Fairleigh Dickinson to open the season before falling at home to DePaul.
• The 81 points scored by the Ramblers were the most by any Dayton opponent this season.
• Alston, who finished the game with 22 points, has now scored in double figures in all but four games this season and has scored 20+ points in each of the last two contests.
• With his six points in the game, Jeameril Wilson now sits 10 points shy of becoming the third Ramblers this season to surpass 1,000 career points.

Up Next
Loyola returns home for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, Feb. 4, when the Ramblers welcome George Washington to town. Tip-off in Loyola's annual Hall of Fame game is slated for 1:30 p.m. on USA Network.
 
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