Loyola KOs Broncs, in prime MAAC position
Brian Hungarter
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Sports
The Hounds came out overly excited against Rider and struggled, forcing bad shots and not working the ball for an open look, resulting in a 41-29 Broncs lead at the break. This team proved their resiliency, however, as Loyola caught fire in the second half, outscoring Rider 44-27.
Rider rotated between a 2-3 zone and a 3-2 zone, and in conjunction with full-court pressure they thoroughly confused Loyola for a majority of the first half. The Hounds showed signs of life in the final four minutes, holding the Rider lead to 41-29. The momentum carried over to the second half after Patsos delivered a few choice words in the locker room. Loyola had numerous open looks and used an 8-2 run to cut the Rider lead to six at 43-37 by the 18-minute mark.
After trading points for about five minutes, the Hounds offense jumped into high gear, unleashing a 10-2 run over 2:15 and cutting the Rider lead to one at 51-50 with 12 minutes to play. Over the stretch, Sullivan connected on his first two threes of the game, and tough rebounding from senior Omari Isreal, Tuck and Brown prevented Rider from relying on their typical dominance in the paint.
After a Rider free-throw, Brown got loose on a fast break and connected on the transition layup, tying the score (52-52) for the first time since the opening tip with 10 minutes to play. There were six lead changes in five minutes leading up to the final media timeout of the game with Rider holding a 64-62 advantage. That's when Loyola's offense took over to deliver the victory.
Rider was in control for a majority of the first half as they continually outworked the Greyhounds inside en route to 16 points in the paint. They held their biggest lead of the half at 39-24 with 2:33 remaining on the back of 15 points from Mansell, 13 from Ryan Thompson and nine from Jason Thompson.
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Competing in their annual Bracketbuster contest Saturday afternoon in Reitz Arena, the Greyhounds edged out their final non-conference opponent UC Davis 67-64 on Senior Day.
Rider rotated between a 2-3 zone and a 3-2 zone, and in conjunction with full-court pressure they thoroughly confused Loyola for a majority of the first half. The Hounds showed signs of life in the final four minutes, holding the Rider lead to 41-29. The momentum carried over to the second half after Patsos delivered a few choice words in the locker room. Loyola had numerous open looks and used an 8-2 run to cut the Rider lead to six at 43-37 by the 18-minute mark.
After trading points for about five minutes, the Hounds offense jumped into high gear, unleashing a 10-2 run over 2:15 and cutting the Rider lead to one at 51-50 with 12 minutes to play. Over the stretch, Sullivan connected on his first two threes of the game, and tough rebounding from senior Omari Isreal, Tuck and Brown prevented Rider from relying on their typical dominance in the paint.
After a Rider free-throw, Brown got loose on a fast break and connected on the transition layup, tying the score (52-52) for the first time since the opening tip with 10 minutes to play. There were six lead changes in five minutes leading up to the final media timeout of the game with Rider holding a 64-62 advantage. That's when Loyola's offense took over to deliver the victory.
Rider was in control for a majority of the first half as they continually outworked the Greyhounds inside en route to 16 points in the paint. They held their biggest lead of the half at 39-24 with 2:33 remaining on the back of 15 points from Mansell, 13 from Ryan Thompson and nine from Jason Thompson.
***
Competing in their annual Bracketbuster contest Saturday afternoon in Reitz Arena, the Greyhounds edged out their final non-conference opponent UC Davis 67-64 on Senior Day.
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