CHICAGO – A shorthanded Loyola Chicago team put the pressure on a 16-1 George Mason squad Tuesday night before falling, 82-74. The Ramblers led by as much as 12 in the first half and trailed by just two with 2:02 to play down the stretch.
Nic Anderson dropped a career-high 17 points, while four more Ramblers joined him in double-figures.
Loyola falls to 5-13 overall and 1-4 in A-10 play.
"Our guys had the right mindset tonight. They were trying their hardest to believe we could win," said head coach
Drew Valentine. "There's not a lot of people that would think based off Saturday's result and who was available to play tonight that we could pull it off. But we have some warriors in that locker room. If we continue to have the same belief that we had tonight as we grow and get guys back, I think we have a good chance come February and March."
How It Happened
Tuesday's action got going with a
Miles Rubin alley-oop to set Loyola's pace for the first half. The Ramblers jumped ahead 9-4 with a 7-0 run that was capped by a three-point play from
Joshua Ola-Joseph. By the 10:47 mark, Loyola was 10-15 from the field and held on to the lead despite George Mason forcing five ties and two lead changes before the mid-way mark.
Loyola grew its lead to nine with an 8-0 run.
Nic Anderson and
Deywilk Tavarez hit back-to-back threes that forced an GMU timeout, while Rubin added a bucket inside the close the stretch. Tavarez hit another three with 3:42 to go for Loyola's first double-digit lead of the game, 43-33. The Ramblers led by as much as 12, but the Patriots were able to chip it down to six at the half. Loyola held a 47-41 edge at the break.
Anderson led the Ramblers out of halftime with a fastbreak dunk to put them back up nine over the Patriots in the opening minute. George Mason responded with a couple 5-0 runs, but the Ramblers held on to the lead until a three-pointer by the Patriots with 12:39 to go. It was the first of seven lead changes in the second.
Tavarez recaptured the lead for Loyola twice by the midway point, while Anderson scored five unanswered, including a three as the shot clock expired for a 64-60 edge. Loyola's last lead of the game came with 4:47 on the clock after a Rubin layup. Tavarez got the Ramblers within two with 2:02 to play, but George Mason scored eight of the last 10 points for the win, 82-74.
Inside the Box Score
- Anderson led Loyola with a career-high 17 points and seven rebounds. He added two steals.
- Houinsou finished with 15 on 6-6 from the field. He tallied three rebounds and six assists.
- Rubin scored 14 points on 7-8 from the field. He added four rebounds, a career-high six assists, one steal, and two blocks.
- Tavarez went 5-9 from the field with three from deep to add 13 points for Loyola.
- Ola-Joseph also finished in double-figures with 10 points. He grabbed four boards.
- Loyola led in the paint, 44-34.
- The Ramblers shot 53.7 percent from the field and made six threes.
- George Mason went 20-26 at the line, while Loyola finished 10-18.
Up Next
Loyola heads out to Dayton on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. CT tip-off.
