CHICAGO, Ill. (February 14, 2023)
In Short…
Philip Alston hit a free throw with nine seconds left and blocked the potential game-tying shot on the other end as Loyola held off a late UMass run to pick up a 64-62 victory Tuesday evening in Amherst.
Braden Norris scored a team-high 17 points, including 14 in the first half, to go along with five rebounds and five assists. Alston, the hero Tuesday, scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds and matched a career-high with four blocks.
How It Happened
The Ramblers methodically built a 15-8 lead over the first eight minutes of the game, as shutdown defense limited UMass to 3-for-12 shooting to open the game. Back-to-back triples by
Braden Norris and
Bryce Golden pushed the lead to 12 at 26-14 with just over six minutes remaining in the half.
Norris kept his hot shooting going down the stretch, scoring eight points over the final 5:19 to help the Ramblers take a 41-27 lead into the break. Norris led all scorers over the first 20 minutes with 14 points on 4-for-7 shooting from deep to go along with four rebounds and five assists.
Philip Alston was also heavily involved in the action with 10 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block.
The Minutemen outscored Loyola by an 13-4 margin over the opening four and a half minutes of the second half to pull within seven at 45-40, but a Norris bucket would stop the UMass surge. Loyola responded right back with an 11-0 scoring run over the next four minutes to build at 56-40 lead with just over 11 minutes to go. Schwieger scored five of the 11 points during the run, knocking down a triple while converting a pair at the line while
Tom Welch,
Jeameril Wilson and Norris each got buckets to fall.
UMass came right back on the attack, using a 12-0 run over 5:42 to pull within six. Loyola would burn a timeout to stop the scoring spree with 4:09 to play and the Ramblers holding onto a 61-55 lead.
A Minuteman layup with 3:06 to play cut the Loyola lead down to four at 61-57. Following free throws by
Marquise Kennedy and Norris, a UMass triple made it a 63-60 with a 1:33 remaining. Another bucket by UMass made it a one-point game with 36 seconds to play.
Alston was fouled going for the offensive rebounds in and split a pair with nine seconds to play to put the Ramblers up two. UMass drove down and their potential game-tying shot was swatted away by Alston. The Minutemen got the offensive rebound and their desperation attempt at the buzzer hit off the front iron to seal the victory.
Inside The Box Score
- Tuesday marked Loyola's first road win of conference play and second road win of the season (at UIC).
- The Ramblers picked up the win despite UMass owning a slim shooting percentage advantage (42.1%-41.2%). It marked the first time this season Loyola won a game when the opposing team had a higher shooting percentage.
- With Norris' 17 points Tuesday, the redshirt senior has now scored in double figures in each of the last five games.
- After being held scoreless in the first half, Schwieger scored all eight of his points over the final 20 minutes.
- Alston scored in double figures for the 20th time in 25 games this season. The junior would also match a career-high and set a new season-high with four blocks in the game.
Up Next
Loyola returns home for a primetime matchup against Dayton on Friday, February 17. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN2.
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