Although his little big man, David Bailey, missed most of the game because of a hyperextended right knee, Loyola coach Larry Farmer didn’t use that as an alibi for Wednesday night’s 69-67 loss at Northern Illinois.
“The bottom line was the rebounding,” said Farmer, whose team was outrebounded 54-26. “In 29 years of coaching I’ve never had that kind of rebound margin. That’s where the game was decided.”
NIU’s Marcus Smallwood accounted for 21 of those rebounds as well as a game-high 19 points. His 20th rebound decided the game.
With 96 seconds remaining and the score tied at 67, the 6-foot-6-inch junior pulled the rebound off the offensive glass and was fouled by Paul McMillan when he attempted the putback. Smallwood made the second of his two free throws, and Loyola was held scoreless for the rest of the game.
Smallwood missed two free throws with 33 seconds to play and Loyola’s Kevin Clancy grabbed the rebound after the second, giving the Ramblers an opportunity to take the last shot. It was taken by 5-10 freshman Terrance Whiters with five seconds to play.
“I was penetrating and tried to throw up a left-handed layup,” said Whiters, who led Loyola with 16 points. “It didn’t work.”
P.J. Smith was fouled after taking down the defensive rebound and made the first of his two free throws to give Northern Illinois its two-point margin of victory.
Bailey limped off the court with only 3 minutes 48 seconds elapsed after missing an outside shot.
The 5-8 senior, who scored 33 points in Monday’s victory over Bradley, said he was injured when the Huskies’ James Staten “ran into my leg and my knee twisted.”
Bailey played only 10 minutes and did not score. He missed all five of his shots and had no assists.
“Whiters is another Bailey,” said NIU coach Rob Judson. “He’s really good. But Loyola is a whole different team when Bailey is 100 percent.”
Bailey returned with 10:42 elapsed, but the sore knee hindered him. After spending 4:23 on the court, he went back to the bench and stayed there until he returned to action with nine minutes elapsed. He played for 3:10 and drew two fouls with his drives to the basket.
“He asked to go in and he asked to be taken out,” said Farmer. “He couldn’t push off. I’m hoping and praying it’s not serious.”
In addition to being without Bailey for most of the game, the Ramblers also were without another starter, 6-9 junior Demetrius Williams, serving a one-game suspension for a fight in the Bradley game.
