After falling behind by 13 points in the second half, Loyola put itself in a position to overtake Western Michigan on Friday night in the Gentile Center.
But when crunch time came, the Ramblers failed to capitalize on their opportunities and lost 63-61.
Loyola still had a prayer when the Broncos’ Shawntes Gary missed two free throws with three seconds to play. The ball was rebounded and passed to Tracy Robinson, and the 6-foot-7-inch senior dribbled past midcourt and launched a three-point shot at the buzzer that glanced off the backboard.
“That would have been an unbelievable shot,” Loyola coach Jim Whitesell said. “We had our chances.”
J.R. Blount, the game’s high scorer with 21 points, put the blame on himself.
“I let my teammates down by missing three free throws in the stretch and I missed a shot at the end that I ordinarily make,” the junior guard said.
Blount and Robinson were the players most responsible for bringing Loyola (2-1) within striking distance, collectively accounting for 14 of the Ramblers’ last 17 points.
Western Michigan (2-2) outshot Loyola 50 percent to 43.8 percent and had a 35-23 advantage in rebounding with 15 boards coming off the offensive glass. The Broncos’ 20 turnovers, however, almost led to their demise.
In the first half the score was tied four times and the lead changed hands eight times before Western Michigan asserted itself and built a 34-28 halftime lead.They carried their momentum into the second half with an early 11-2 run before Loyola rallied.
“We put ourselves in the hole at the start of the second half,” Whitesell said. “We didn’t take many good shots. You want your runs to last longer and your bad play to shorten up.
“They had key offensive rebounds at the end when the momentum had changed. They ran down long rebounds. Rebounding is an area we can get a lot better in.”
Center Joe Reitz was the leader for the Broncos, scoring 17 points and pulling down nine rebounds.
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nmilbert@tribune.com
