CHICAGO –
Guillaume Grotzinger shined in his Maroon & Gold debut in Sunday's exhibition action vs. DePaul, dropping 20 points in the 72-65 loss. He went 7-of-11 from the field and tallied six boards and five assists.
This marked the first of two exhibition games for the Ramblers this season.
"Our overall toughness and physicality on defense was a positive today. We were able to be really physically aggressive and strong, which was in the DNA of some of our best teams here in the past," said head coach
Drew Valentine. "We held them to 32 percent from the floor and forced 17 turnovers that we converted for some fast break points. I'm excited to see what our defensive ceiling will be after today's showing."
How It Happened
Xavier Amos made his return to the court noticeable on the first possession of the game, forcing a steal and taking it down court for a layup and early lead. The teams then traded threes before DePaul would gain some ground on an 8-0 run. Grotzinger sparked an 8-0 run for Loyola minutes later with a layup and then assisted on back-to-back threes by Amos, which cut DePaul's lead to three, 20-17.
Popoola drained three straight from deep to push the Blue Demon lead to 11 by the 4:15 mark. The lead stayed in double-figures despite a bucket from
Jason Schofield in the final minute. DePaul held a 40-30 edge at the break.
Elias Rapieque had Loyola's first points of the second less than two minutes in, while Grotzinger's jumper at the 17:29 mark sparked a 10-0 Loyola run. His next basket capped the stretch and cut the DePaul lead down to two, 44-42. DePaul answered with 10 straight points of their own for some separation.
The Blue Demons would lead by as much as 16 with 5:32 on the clock, but the Ramblers chipped their way back in with seven unanswered. Nessah had a three-point play with 2:17 to go and got Loyola back within seven. He'd hit a three down the stretch to get within five with 47 seconds to play, but DePaul would hang on to win, 72-65.
Inside the Box Score
- Grotzinger was 7-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 at the line to lead Loyola with 20 points. He added six rebounds, five assists, and one steal.
- Nessah added 14 points on 4-of-7 from the field with two threes. He also went 4-of-5 at the line. Nessah had five boards.
- Amos and Schofield had eight points each.
- Loyola shot 39.3 percent from the field to DePaul's 32.7 percent.
- The Blue Demons went 25-of-30 at the line to the Ramblers' 12-of-17.
- Loyola dominated the paint, 34-14. The Ramblers also led on the fast break, 15-7.
- The Ramblers forced 17 turnovers, converting the DePaul mistakes to 19 points.
Up Next
Loyola will play host to Calumet College on Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. to close exhibition play.
