CHICAGO – Deywilk Tavarez came in clutch in the final minute of Monday's opener, draining two threes in the final 18 seconds to snag the win for Loyola Chicago over Cleveland State, 91-88. He finished with 16 points and five threes in his Rambler debut.
 
Loyola improves to 1-0 overall.
 
"The feeling from today's game is fairly positive. Cleveland State is a tough first opponent to play," said head coach Drew Valentine. "We're pretty thorough in our scouting, and we kind of had an idea of what they were going to, but we didn't know everything, so it was tough to prep for.
 
"I think tonight you saw the strength in our numbers and depth. Miles and Justin are going to be our guys that we rely on for consistency, but it's really up to everyone else on who steps up and who wants to perform on any given night."
 
How It Happened
The 2025-26 season started with a bang on a Miles Rubin alley-oop dunk, but the Vikings quickly put the pressure on, jumping ahead 12-5 with a 10-0 run. Loyola answered with a run of its own out of the 16-minute media time out. Tavarez hit two straight threes to cap an 11-0 run and regain a Rambler lead, 18-14.
 
The remainder of the first half went back and forth with 11 more lead changes. Cleveland State used seven straight points to get ahead by four on a Kamari Jones three, while Kayde Dotson sank two straight threes at the 5:21 and 4:20 marks to push Loyola's lead to five. Thirteen points in the final four minutes helped the Vikings take a narrow edge at the break, 51-50.
 
Loyola came out of the break, swinging the lead seven points in its favor in the first five minutes. Chuck Love III hit three from deep on straight possessions for the Ramblers to go up 66-59. Over the next five minutes, the Ramblers built their lead to double-digits on a Kymany Houinsou dunk, while a Tavarez three push it to an 11-point lead with 8:16 to play.
 
Despite the lead, the Ramblers couldn't shake the Vikings who chipped their way back in and used an 11-0 run to retake an 81-80 lead with 3:33 to play. They held on to a two-point edge into the final minute of play before Tavarez stepped up and was fouled on a made three. His four points gave the Ramblers a two-point lead that was matched down court by Dayan Nessah to tie it 88-88 with 10 seconds to play. Dotson had a look from deep with two seconds to go, and the offensive board went to Loyola who called a timeout to draw up the final look from Tavarez. He hit the buzzer beater to clinch the win, 91-88.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Dotson, Tavarez, and Rubin scored a team-high 16 points.
• Dotson and Tavarez combined for eight threes. Tavarez was 5-7 from deep.
• Rubin added a team-high six rebounds and four blocks.
• Love III and Joshua Ola-Joseph also scored double-figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively.
• Justin Moore led the Ramblers with six assists.
• Loyola extends their home winning streak to 10 games, dating back to Jan. 15, 2025.
• The Ramblers assisted on 21 of their 29 made field goals.
• Loyola shot over 43 percent from the field, hit 14 threes, and were 76 percent at the line.
• Loyola's bench outscored Cleveland State's, 45-18, and the Ramblers converted 14 Viking turnovers to 24 points.

 
Up Next
The Ramblers return to action Thursday, Nov. 6. Loyola takes on Mercyhurst following the women's game in Gentile Arena. Anticipated start time is 8 p.m. CT.