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The Final Score
Tonight the Ramblers finally snapped their four-game losing streak. But they didn’t do it unscathed. They barley made it out of the Jones Convocation Center in one piece.
Loyola had to make changes to it’s usual game plan from the beginning. They went with a three guard, two forward lineup instead of it’s usual four guard lineup with Ben Averkamp in the middle.
Loyola head coach Porter Moser did this to compete with Chicago State who had the size advantage. The Cougars also had a three guard, two forward lineup. But when you consider that third guard is the 6’7″ Quinton Pippen, with 6”7″ forward Jeremy Robinson, and 6’8″ forward Nick Ross, the Ramblers needed to put more size on the court.
In the first half the Ramblers easily jumped out to a 13-2 lead. But turnovers, and other mistakes, got CSU back into it midway through the half. They also got Ben Averkamp into foul trouble early, he had three fouls by halftime. But the Ramblers hit some clutch shots towards the end of the half to increase their lead.
In the second half, Loyola came out of the gate on a path of destruction. They quickly got on a 9-6 run forcing CSU head coach Tracy Dildy to call a timeout. I guess the Cougars got his message loud and clear because when play resumed, the Cougars got on their own 9-7 run.
It would go back and forth until the middle part of the second half. Loyola would go on another big run, this one would be scored 12-9. From there it looked like Loyola had the game well in hand. Especially since Averkamp {who scored in double figures} managed to keep himself from fouling out of the game.
Loyola had a 56-49 lead with 3:22 left in the game. But the Ramblers would blow it with another round of bad mistakes. Turnovers, bad fouls, mishandling the ball, and even a time violation all worked in favor of CSU.
The Cougars scored off of every single one of Loyola’s mistakes. Chicago State would cut Loyola’s lead to 57-54 with just under a minute left. Both teams would squander every opportunity they had down the stretch. Loyola missed shots that would have put them ahead for good, while CSU kept missing shots that would tie the game.
Quinton Pippen would be the hero of the second half as he finally managed to hit a game-tying three point shot with 30 seconds left. Loyola had the chance to get the go-ahead basket but would turn the ball over after they failed to inbound the ball before getting hit with a five second violation.
Once CSU got the ball back, they turned to their star, Jeremy Robinson to win the game for them. He missed his first shot, got his own rebound, missed another shot, which was luckily rebounded by guard Nate Duhon.
Duhon put up a last-second shot to win the game but it went right off the iron as time expired. In the extra frame, the Ramblers got off to a hot start and never looked back. They managed to stop another last-minute rally attempt by Chicago State to walk out with the 66-63 victory.
Loyola ends a four-game losing streak, while stopping CSU’s two-game win streak after all was said and done. Loyola is now 4-1 against Chicago area teams.
Aside from Ben Averkamp, forward Christian Thomas also got in double figures with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Ramblers guard Jordan Hicks also pitched in 13 points of his own.
For the Cougars, their dynamic duo of Jeremy Robinson and Quinton Pippen combined for 30 points and 7 rebounds in the losing effort.
The Cougars (6-15, 1-1 Great West) will have a week to prepare for their upcoming conference game against Utah Valley on January 26th.
Loyola (11-7, 1-4 Horizon League) resumes conference play with a trip to Cleveland State on Wednesday night.
Here is the box score from tonight’s game:
In the aftermath of tonight’s insanity, I got an exclusive interview with Loyola’s Ben Averkamp:
CSU head coach Tracy Dildy also held a press conference:
I must say that tonight was one of the craziest games I’ve covered so far.
Ben Averkamp (24) has 7 points and 3 fouls.
Loyola’s team captain hasn’t been too effective thus far. Up until the midway point in the first half, Averkamp only had 2 points. He would eventually get benched for the final three minutes of the half after getting into foul trouble early.
But not to fear as Nick Osborne, Christian Thomas, and Jordan Hicks have all done their part to keep the Ramblers ahead. But Chicago State almost came back to tie this game around the eight minute mark.
Missed shots, turnovers, and fouls almost came back to haunt Loyola as the Cougars turned those mistakes into points. Loyola saw a 17-5 lead change to a 27-21 lead within just a few minutes.
At point CSU went on a 10-7 run, but Loyola calmed themselves down, limited their mistakes, and got back on track to finish the half on a 7-5 run. The Cougars are still alive thanks to Jamere Dismukes, Quinton Pippen, and Matt Ross.
Considering that Loyola at one point had a 13-2 lead, the Cougars are in better shape now then they were when the game started. Can the Cougars force Ben Averkamp to foul out of the game?
Can Loyola keep up the momentum that they took into the locker room at halftime? Follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports to find out.
Here is the first half box score:
Both teams are on the court for early warm-ups.
In a rare January non-conference match-up, the Chicago area tonight will be treated to another North Side VS South Side addition of college basketball.
Tonight from the Jones Convocation Center off of 95th and King Drive, the Chicago State Cougars play host to the Loyola Ramblers.
These two programs come into tonight’s contest with very contrasting stories. Although the Cougars are struggling again this season, they have won their last two games.
The 6-14 (1-1 Great West) CSU Cougars have won by an average of 25 points in their last two contests. A 77-53 victory over Illinois-Benedictine , and a 81-56 win over Houston Baptist.
The Cougars have been led by clutch shooting from forwards Jeremy Robinson and Quinton Pippen {Son of Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen}.
Tonight they will have a tough task on their hands as they take on the Ramblers from Rogers Park.
Despite the fact that Porter Moser’s team has lost four in-a-row, the Ramblers are 3-1 against Chicago area teams this season.
Perhaps tonight will be the night that they can break their four game funk and establish themselves as the elite in Chicago hoops this year.
Accomplishing this feat will not be easy, Loyola’s last four games have been lost by seven points or less. Their defense has collapsed in the final seconds of these games, despite the fact that star forward Ben Averkamp has carried this Ramblers squad every step of the way.
Tonight it will be survival of the fittest that decides this one.
You can follow me during the game on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
Yesterday afternoon I had the honor and privilege of attending the Chicagoland Basketball Kickoff Luncheon. DePaul University hosted the event at Maggiano’s Little Italy in Downtown Chicago.
Even though this was a DePaul sponsored event, Northwestern, Loyola, Illinois-Chicago, and Chicago State were also in attendance. Coaches, players, administrators, and special guests from each school were present at this star studded event.
Before lunch was served, some coaches elected to speak to the media before hand. One of those coaches was DePaul head coach Oliver Purnell.
The Blue Demons return 10 players from last years squad along with six new freshman. Once again DePaul has depth at the guard position, but this year they also invested in the front court.
When the Demons take the court for the 2012-2013 season they will have seven players that measure 6’6″ or taller. This was something that was lacking over the last few seasons.
Coach Purnell is confident about this years team, and he expects to see improvement on the court. Here is what he said in his pre-event press conference:
After the press pool, Coach Purnell spoke with me exclusively:
Next up on press row was Chicago State Cougars head coach Tracy Dildy. Historically the Cougars have not been a great basketball program.
Since they began play in 1966, the Cougars have compiled a record of 516-777. Coach Dildy has compiled a record of 10-52 in his two seasons as CSU head coach.
The Cougars have always been at the bottom of the Chicago college basketball barrel. They have never participated in the NCAA Tournament or the NIT.
In the mid 90′s,CSU came close to making the post season on two occasions when former Chicago Bull Craig Hodges was their head coach.
Aside from that, CSU has always been a doormat for teams like DePaul, UIC, and Loyola. Coach Dildy is looking to forever change the landscape of Cougars basketball.
Here is what he said before the luncheon began:
Right before lunch was served, other coaches spoke to the media set including DePaul Women’s head coach Doug Bruno, as well as the women’s coaches from Illinois-Chicago, Loyola, Chicago State, and Northwestern.
The host for Friday afternoon’s festivities was WGN Radio and Comcast Sportsnet personality David Kaplan. Here was his introduction as the event started:
Each coach would speak in a panel setting, beginning with Loyola head coach Porter Moser and Chicago State’s Tracy Dildy. Earlier this week, I spoke with extensively with Coach Moser at the Horizon League’s media day: http://q101.com/2012/10/horizon-league-media-day/
On Friday, Coach Moser would bring his message to a bigger audience. Coach Dildy would talk about the changes that are taking effect at Chicago State:
Next up on the panel was Northwestern’s top assistant Fred Hill. Northwestern is entering it’s 14th season under Bill Carmody, Coach Carmody was on a recruiting trip which is why Coach Hill was in his place.
Last year the Wildcats barely missed the NCAA Tournament, they made a mini-run in the NIT before being eliminated. Coach Hill told the luncheon guests that “Chicago’s Big Ten Team” is primed to make a serious run in 2013.
And finally, Oliver Purnell would close out the event with his speech. Coach Purnell spoke about his optimism for his team this year, his recruiting efforts, the improvement of his players, and the expansion of the Big East Conference:
After the event was over, DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin was kind enough to speak with us exclusively:
This year will be a defining moment for college basketball in the Windy City. It’ll be interesting to see how DePaul, Loyola, and UIC improve from last year.
Chicago State will have a huge microscope on them, Can coach Dildy lead his team out of the dark? But I do think that Northwestern will make another post-season appearance.
The only question for them is, can they get into the NCAA Tournament?
You can follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82 #Q101Sports
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