In what turned out to be a tale of two halves, the Loyola Ramblers dropped their first game of the Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City against No. 8 ranked Creighton by a score of 88-65. The Ramblers were able to hang on for the majority of the first half before the Blue Jays put their foot back on the gas and took control. Here are three observations from the game:
That first half was fun
After slow offensive performances against UIC and New Orleans, the Ramblers hit the ground running (and then some) in the first half against Creighton. Loyola trailed by 8 at the half, although the score didn’t quite tell the tale. The Ramblers shot a hot 48.5 percent from the field and stayed with the Blue Jays the whole half, including holding the lead at multiple points. A strong defensive presence by Miles Rubin and hot shooting from Des Watson kept the Ramblers’ hopes alive as play carried on.
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Then Creighton woke up…
If the first half was any indicator of how the game was going to go, Creighton threw it right out the window at halftime. The Blue Jays came out of the break shooting a red-hot 57.1 clip from the field (including an absurd 7-12 three-point shooting performance) to extend the lead for good. The Ramblers struggled to contain the two-headed monster of Ryan Kalkbrenner (29 points) and Baylor Scheierman (25 points), who alone contributed 53 of Creighton’s 88 points.
Miles Rubin continues to contribute in the paint
Freshman Miles Rubin’s start to college basketball has been anything but easy. Two out of his first five opponents have been programs ranked in the top ten nationally, a true baptism by fire. Yet Rubin continues to prove he is the real deal, just narrowly missing out on double-digit points, putting up 9 points and 1 assist in today’s contest. The young center was a spark on defense as well, leading all scorers with 3 blocks as well as bringing home 7 rebounds.
The Ramblers now look to the consolation game tomorrow, taking on Boston College with a 12:30 p.m. tipoff.