Men's Basketball drops two on homestand, Lewis injured
Rich Conforti
Issue date: 2/2/10 Section: Sports
After a road trip to New York, Loyola returned home for match-ups against the Fairfield Stags and the Niagara Purple Eagles.
Led by forward Anthony Johnsonís 23-point eight-rebound effort, Fairfield was able to escape Reitz Arena with a narrow 73-69 victory over Loyola on Thursday Jan. 28, spoiling senior guard Brett Harveyís return to the lineup.
In a game that saw 17 lead changes, the Hounds had no answer for the physical Johnson, one of the MAACís top players. The action was fairly slow until late in the first half, when the pace of play seemed to be turned up a level.
After a timeout, with 4:29 remaining and the Hounds trailing 59-55, freshman guard Robert Olson took a steal the distance and converted on a conventional three-point play to pull the Hounds within one. Olson would finish the afternoon with 11 points, as he continues to provide Loyola with valuable minutes.
The next several minutes saw both teams converting on their scoring opportunities, keeping the game tight, with the score tied at 63. It was at this point that the Stags would deliver the dagger that sealed the teamís 16th victory of the season.
With 1:41 remaining in the contest, guard Sean Crawford converted on a four-point play to put the Stags ahead 67-63, the last time the lead would change on the evening.
Initially, this up-tempo game seemed to play to the Hounds advantage. In the end, however, Loyolaís carelessness with the ball (18 turnovers) proved to be too much to overcome.
Loyola out shot the Stags in the game,shooting over 52 percent as a team, while Fairfield only connected on 39.4 percent from the field.
After shaking off the initial rust of the lay-off, Harvey found his stroke, recording 15 points in the loss. Senior guard Tony Lewis was Loyolaís most effective offensive player on the evening, tallying 14 points in just under 20 minutes of action. Junior guard Brian Rudolph was putting his play-making abilities to use as usual, dishing out five-second half assists.
Led by forward Anthony Johnsonís 23-point eight-rebound effort, Fairfield was able to escape Reitz Arena with a narrow 73-69 victory over Loyola on Thursday Jan. 28, spoiling senior guard Brett Harveyís return to the lineup.
In a game that saw 17 lead changes, the Hounds had no answer for the physical Johnson, one of the MAACís top players. The action was fairly slow until late in the first half, when the pace of play seemed to be turned up a level.
After a timeout, with 4:29 remaining and the Hounds trailing 59-55, freshman guard Robert Olson took a steal the distance and converted on a conventional three-point play to pull the Hounds within one. Olson would finish the afternoon with 11 points, as he continues to provide Loyola with valuable minutes.
The next several minutes saw both teams converting on their scoring opportunities, keeping the game tight, with the score tied at 63. It was at this point that the Stags would deliver the dagger that sealed the teamís 16th victory of the season.
With 1:41 remaining in the contest, guard Sean Crawford converted on a four-point play to put the Stags ahead 67-63, the last time the lead would change on the evening.
Initially, this up-tempo game seemed to play to the Hounds advantage. In the end, however, Loyolaís carelessness with the ball (18 turnovers) proved to be too much to overcome.
Loyola out shot the Stags in the game,shooting over 52 percent as a team, while Fairfield only connected on 39.4 percent from the field.
After shaking off the initial rust of the lay-off, Harvey found his stroke, recording 15 points in the loss. Senior guard Tony Lewis was Loyolaís most effective offensive player on the evening, tallying 14 points in just under 20 minutes of action. Junior guard Brian Rudolph was putting his play-making abilities to use as usual, dishing out five-second half assists.
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