Coach Will Rey makes valid points when he contends that quickness and aggressiveness can enable a smaller basketball team to beat a taller one.
Early this season, a Loyola lineup featuring three quick, aggressive guards forced steals that led to layups. The layups led to a team shooting average more than 50 percent. And the Ramblers won seven games in a row.
But what happens when an undersized team tries to use a lineup of four guards and one 6-foot-6-inch player against a normal-sized opponent or one with a shot-blocking 7-footer? Maybe that`s stretching the David-Goliath game plan.
The Ramblers` 68-63 loss to Butler on Saturday was Loyola`s sixth defeat in its last eight games. Out of necessity, Rey switched to what amounted to a four-guard lineup plus Grant Moehring when Kerman Ali encountered foul trouble. Moehring and Ali, each a shade over 6-6, were the only players taller than 6-4 playing for Loyola.
Rey contends his team did not lose because it was outsized or that, because four men played more than 35 minutes, it ”wore down.”
Butler star Darin Archbold said, ”We knew they play basically six men, and we have a deep bench. Our goal is to wear down teams. I think we did.”
”We have to be aggressive,” said Loyola`s Keir Rogers, ”but we`ve been playing lately against 6-10 and 7-foot shot-blocker types . . . and teams outnumber us.”
Rey sticks to his work ethic, merely saying, ”We have to work our way through this.”
He hasn`t many options. As Ali and Moehring battle bigger opponents, they are likely to commit fouls, causing Rey to go to the four-guard lineup and see mismatches.
The picture might be brighter if 6-11 Bernie Salthe hadn`t suffered a stress fracture in his foot, or if Rey had enough confidence in 6-11 freshman Dan Ciesielski to offer him more playing time.
Butler coach Barry Collier was impressed with the way Loyola`s small lineup fired the Ramblers into a seven-point lead early in the second half. Rogers posted up and scored 13 points of his team-high 20 points in a seven-minute flurry.
”Loyola isolated Rogers in the post more,” Collier said. ”They had only one big man in the game so, in effect, Rogers became their other big guy. I`m amazed how hard they worked.”
Loyola`s problem continues. Wednesday, the Ramblers play at the Horizon against De Paul, another big and deep team.
