The Loyola Ramblers took victory once again, defeating the Dukes of Duquesne by a score of 72-67. It was a sloppy start for both sides, but the Ramblers were able to overcome a halftime deficit to take their tenth win of the season, already matching their win total from last season. Their win streak now extends to four games as they improve to a 10-5 (2-0 A10) record. Here are three observations from the win:
Three-headed beast leads comeback charge
Tonight’s comeback win was led by the three-headed beast of Philip Alston, Des Watson, and Dame Adelekun, the Ramblers’ three leading scorers. Alston led the trio despite having six turnovers, finishing the game with 17 points while Watson and Adelekun each finished with 15 points.
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For Watson, it was his fourth game of the season with three or more three-pointers and his fifth game scoring 15+ points. Adelekun featured strongly on both sides of the court, finishing with five rebounds and a block.
Second-half defense leads the way
A criticism of last year’s team was that they oftentimes did not carry over the same intensity through into the second half. This year’s squad has done well to squash that noise recently, overcoming a four-point deficit at the half.
While the Ramblers came out firing in the second half, it was their defense that left the Dukes scrambling as time ran out, as they were held to a 30.3 percent clip in the second half, much different from their 48.5 percent number in the first half.
Turnovers don’t bite in the end
The first half started off as a sloppy contest for both sides, as both teams had double-digit turnovers by halftime. The Ramblers would go on to finish the game with 21 turnovers but did not let that number affect the final score. The Dukes finished the game with 18 turnovers of their own, as five different Ramblers collected a steal in the second half.
The Ramblers now look ahead to their next game, hosting Richmond on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. tipoff on NBC Sports Chicago.