It was, after all, a game plagued by 44 turnovers, and played between Loyola and Detroit Mercy, the last and next-to-last teams in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
But don`t try to tell Loyola star Keir Rogers that Saturday`s 93-89 double-overtime victory at Detroit wasn`t important for the Ramblers, who are 10-11 overall and 1-5 in the MCC with six games to play.
”This really helps our confidence,” said Rogers, who scored 29 points and had 12 rebounds as Loyola snapped a six-game losing streak. ”When you lose so many tough games, you begin to doubt yourself. Winning on the road and in overtime means a lot.”
It took more than the 29 points by Rogers, a career-high 25 by sophomore Kerman Ali, and a flashy 12-point, seven-assist effort by Russell Wilson in his first start to earn Will Rey`s troops their first MCC victory. There also was an intelligent distribution of Loyola`s 66 field-goal attempts.
When the Ramblers lost 74-72 at home to Dayton last week, the seven Ramblers who shot from the field each took six, seven or eight shots. That`s nice, if you believe in socialism. But in basketball,the game plan these days involves the capitalistic concept, whereby big names at the top reap rich rewards, made possible by role players in blue collars.
Rogers didn`t take eight shots at Detroit, as he did against Dayton. He took 20 and made 12. And the 6-6 Ali was able to beat the slower 6-10 Greg Grant, so Ali took 18 shots, making 11.
Wilson`s performance in his first start was a huge confidence lift for the 6-foot Minneapolis sophomore, who missed his entire freshman season due to surgery that reconstructed a serious knee injury.
Saturday`s victory might have been a preview of Loyola`s future. Aside from Rogers` 29 points and four by Don Sobczak, all the points were scored by players Rey expects to coach next season.
