Entering its matchup against Boston University on Feb. 1, Loyola men’s basketball had played nine Patriot League games. Five were two-possession games — meaning they were decided by six points or fewer — and the Greyhounds had lost three of those contests.
Loyola head coach Josh Loeffler recently said his team was close to taking a small step forward and earning better results in those close games. A small step was taken against BU, with critical shots in crunch time and a key final stop. The 69-67 victory against the Terriers pushed the Greyhounds to 9-12 overall and 4-6 in the Patriot League.
“I think we did certain things down the stretch better,” Loeffler said. “I think we executed in stretches really well. There’s still going to be a lot to learn from that film down the stretch that we can clean up and improve, but that comes with the territory of coaching in college and coaching basketball in general. And it also comes with the territory of having younger players, which we do. I think we’re getting somewhere.”
Loyola was down, 56-53, with less than nine minutes to go. Two buckets by senior center Milos Ilic gave the Greyhounds a one-point lead shortly thereafter, however, and by the time sophomore guard Jacob Theodosiou made two threes and junior guard Tyson Commander hit a three, Loyola was ahead, 67-61, with 3:05 to play.
Ilic not only picked up an assist on Commander’s three but created space for a 3-pointer by screening BU guard Kyrone Alexander:
“He went under the screen,” Commander explained. “Coach has been telling me … to have confidence in my shot. Took it and made it.”
The Greyhounds had the lead the rest of the way but could have made life easier on themselves had sophomore wing Jordan Stiemke converted a pair of free throws with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Instead, he missed the front end of a one-and-one. Alexander grabbed the rebound, giving the Terriers a shot to send the game to overtime or win the game in regulation.
The ensuing possession out of a timeout left Commander and Ilic to disrupt a ball screen designed to give BU guard Michael McNair a chance to orchestrate a decisive play. Commander forced McNair into an off-balance three that fell short of the mark as time expired.
“[Commander] did a great job because we were switching the ball screen,” Loeffler said. “He switched on to the big initially, and then they re-screened. I know this sounds silly, but then he switched again and didn’t let him get downhill. We talk about when we switch not allowing a guy to get an advantage and drive us or to [rise] up into a shot. To do that twice on that possession with Milos and Tyson was really high-level communication and execution.”
“Great communication with me and Milos forcing them into a bad shot,” said Commander, a native of Belcamp and graduate of John Carroll.
A date at Lafayette on Feb. 5 is next on the calendar for Loyola, which lost to the Leopards, 80-59, on Jan. 22. Lafayette is also 4-6 in the Patriot League, meaning this matchup could turn out to be an important one down the road as the two teams jockey for position in the conference tournament in March.
The bottom four squads in the 10-team Patriot League must play first-round games, meaning they have to win four tournament games to win the league. The victory against BU on Feb. 1 is a good start to finding a way to a first-round bye.
“I want to be in first place. That’s the goal,” said Theodosiou, who is averaging 12.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. “We want to win the league, so not comfortable, not satisfied. This is a good win, but we’ve got to get our redemption on [Wednesday] against Lafayette.”
TIGERS KEEP ROARING: Towson extended its winning streak to eight with a 55-54 victory against Drexel on Feb. 1 as the Tigers improved to 14-9 overall and 9-1 in the CAA. Sophomore wing Tyler Tejada and redshirt sophomore Dylan Williamson combined for 38 points on 16 of 33 shooting.
The win against the Dragons marked Towson’s third game in six days and fourth in ten. Three teams are breathing down the Tigers’ necks with just two losses in the conference: UNC Wilmington, Charleston and William & Mary.
Head coach Pat Skerry isn’t dwelling on the winning streak.
“We don’t even talk about that,” Skerry said. “It’s a good league. There’s so much more parity in the league this year. Can we keep putting game plans together and executing? I know guys are aware of that. They have phones and they read all that stuff. … What I think we’re seeing is they have winning experience because of last year and some things we’ve been through this year, so they’re not afraid of the moment.”
Towson had a 35-29 halftime lead against Drexel, with the two teams combining to shoot 10-for-22 from 3-point range during the first half. However, the second half was a defensive struggle, with the two squads scoring a total of 45 points and shooting 2-for-17 from deep.
No points were scored in the final 3:10 of the game. Williamson missed a 3-pointer that would have essentially put the game on ice with less than 20 seconds left. Dragons head coach Zach Spiker opted not to use one of his remaining two timeouts, leaving guard Kobe MaGee to create a potential game-winning shot. Tejada forced a tough look, and forward Victor Panov’s putback was barely late.
The shot was called good on the floor but reversed after a review.
“Like Tyler did, we’ve just got to play solid defense, don’t foul,” Williamson said of the final sequence. “In that situation, we would’ve probably been switching one to five, but Tyler did a great job walling up and the shot was late.”
OTHER NOTES: UMBC fell to 11-12 overall and 3-5 in the America East after losses to Bryant on Jan. 30 and UMass Lowell on Feb. 1. Senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. totaled 44 points in the two losses. … Morgan State improved to 10-12 overall and 4-2 in the MEAC with 76-63 win against Maryland Eastern Shore on Feb. 1. Redshirt senior wing Will Thomas scored 24 points in the victory. … Coppin State, Loyola, Morgan State, Navy, Towson and UMBC all hit the road this week, but Mount St. Mary’s hosts Iona on Feb. 6.
Photo Credit: Michael Eigenbrode