Leading by double digits through most of the second and third quarters against its fiercest Catholic League rival might have seemed too good to be true for Loyola.
And it almost was.
The Ramblers led by as many as 16 in the second half but had to hold off a late St. Ignatius rally to post a 47-43 win in front of 3,800 Friday night at the Gentile Center.
Matthew Perkaus scored 15 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Ramblers (15-1, 4-1 Catholic North).
“I hope we’re not getting used to this,” said Perkaus with a laugh. “We’re playing pretty well together right now, and when things get tough this team can pull it together.
“We’ve had a few pretty close ones lately, though.”
No. 14 Loyola, which won its 10th straight and claimed its second straight Jesuit Cup, had St. Ignatius on its heels almost from the opening tip.
Perkaus scored 10 in the first half, including seven of his team’s 10 second-quarter points as the Ramblers led 25-17 at intermission.
Even when he wasn’t scoring, Perkaus made a difference. After he grabbed one rebound, his full-court lead pass to Jeff Jordan for a dunk fueled an 8-2 run to start the second half and gave Loyola a 33-19 edge with 5 minutes 1 second left.
The Wolfpack (11-4, 3-2) made its comeback behind Jimmy Lynch (20 points), who connected on three of his four three-point tries, including one with 1:10 remaining to cut the Loyola lead to 45-41. But that was it for the Wolfpack.
St. Ignatius missed its next four shots and Joseph Suhey had two free throws with 17 seconds left to ice the contest.
