SLU’s Gibson Jimerson works upcourt as two Loyola defenders chase after, during Wednesday’s NCAA basketball game at Chaifetz Arena. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Men’s Basketball | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola-Chicago (9-5, 1-0) | 41 | 39 | 80 |
| SLU (7-7, 0-1) | 36 | 37 | 73 |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
ST. LOUIS, MO — Following a sluggish start that saw the team trail by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Saint Louis University Billikens rallied back to tie the score midway through the second half.
Unfortunately though, Saint Louis’ opponent, the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers regained control late on its way to handing the Billikens an 80-73 loss in the Atlantic 10 Conference opener for both teams, Wednesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
“We looked like a team that hadn’t played in a while,” SLU head coach Travis Ford said. “We were as sluggish and soft, not aggressive, and slow as I’ve had a team play to start a game. Our reaction time was obviously bad. We weren’t reacting at all, and getting down early was a problem. I’m disappointed in the lack of toughness and speed. They played at a different speed. We have some guys who are out of shape.”
Loyola, which led the game from start to finish, took a 36-18 lead with five minutes to go in the first half. Saint Louis had to put together two strong rallies to tie the score at 55 with 11 minutes left in the second half.
But the Billikens could never quite get over the hump, as Loyola went on a 10-3 run over the next four minutes to regain control of the game. SLU got as close as three points on a couple of occasions in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the hot-shooting Ramblers were able to escape with a hard-fought win.
“We flipped the script from our usual games when we usually start well and have a lull in the second half,” SLU junior guard Gibson Jimerson said. “We didn’t start as well. At the end of the day, it’s not being ready. They hit us in the mouth, and we didn’t respond like we should have.”
Loyola shot 51 percent for the game and made 10 three-pointers, including five-of-seven from leading scorer Des Watson, who finished the night with a game-high 24 points. The Ramblers also forced 16 SLU turnovers, including 12 steals, and took advantage of a horrendous night at the free throw line for the Billikens, who only made eight-of-19.
“Our guys have to understand there’s a DNA we’re still searching for,” Ford said. “We’re searching for what it takes. We’ve done a lot of talking about it the last week, and some guys have habits that keep you from being successful as an individual. You have to have winning characteristics and move on to the next play. It’s OK to be upset but in the right way and have some grit about you.”
Three Billiken players scored in double figures, led by Jimerson, who had 19 points. But he also had a tough shooting night, as he made just seven-of-21 shots, including just three of the 11 three-pointers he attempted.
The one bright spot throughout the night for Saint Louis was senior forward Terrence Hargrove, who finished the night with 18 points on six-of-nine shooting, with three three-pointers and a thunderous dunk late in the game that despite the deficit, brought the hometown crowd to its feet.
Senior big man Bradley Ezewiro had 13 points and 10 rebounds, but also blamed himself for SLU’s troubles defending Loyola’s players in the paint.
“Tough loss tonight,” he said. “It starts with us. It starts with me doing a better job and being in better shape on defense. I’ll take this one as my fault.”
SLU will gets chance to redeem itself on Saturday, when it travels to Virginia to take on George Mason.
That contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff and will be televised nationally on the USA Network.
Loyola-Chicago 80
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00 | Watson,Des | * | 30 | 7-10 | 5-7 | 5-9 | 0-6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 24 |
| 04 | Norris,Braden | * | 31 | 3-6 | 2-4 | 2-2 | 0-6 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 23 | Alston,Philip | * | 25 | 3-8 | 1-3 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 24 | Rubin,Miles | * | 24 | 3-4 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 01 | Dawson,Jayden | * | 19 | 2-5 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 32 | Adelekun,Dame | 13 | 5-6 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | |
| 02 | Quinn,Jalen | 26 | 1-8 | 0-1 | 3-5 | 2-3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |
| 30 | Mwamba,Patrick | 19 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | |
| 10 | Welch,Tom | 4 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 12 | Dolan,Greg | 9 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 28-55 | 10-23 | 14-23 | 6-24 | 30 | 22 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 80 |
SLU 73
| ## | Player | GS | MIN | FG | 3PT | FT | ORB-DRB | REB | PF | A | TO | BLK | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Jimerson, Gibson | * | 36 | 7-21 | 3-11 | 2-2 | 2-0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 22 | Hargrove Jr., Terrence | * | 32 | 6-9 | 3-4 | 3-5 | 0-4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 |
| 03 | Ezewiro, Bradley | * | 26 | 6-10 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 5-5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 07 | Meadows Jr., Michael | * | 30 | 1-5 | 0-3 | 1-3 | 0-2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 05 | Dalger, Tim | * | 10 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 02 | Hughes II, Larry | 27 | 3-7 | 3-7 | 0-1 | 0-6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | |
| 00 | Thames, Kellen | 22 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 5-1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | |
| 12 | Zhang, Bruce | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 01 | Medley, Cian | 10 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| TM | TEAM | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 5-1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals | – | 200 | 28-66 | 9-26 | 8-19 | 19-25 | 44 | 16 | 10 | 16 | 3 | 6 | 73 |
2023-24 SLU Billikens Men’s Basketball Schedule
| Date | Gametime | At | Opponent | Location | TV | Radio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 6, 2024 (Saturday) | 1 pm | Away | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. (EagleBank Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 10, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Saint Joseph’s | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 16, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Dayton | Dayton, Ohio (UD Arena) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 19, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Away | VCU | Richmond, Va. (Siegel Center) | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 24, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 pm | Home | Davidson | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 27, 2024 (Saturday) | 7 pm | Home | Massachusetts | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| January 30, 2024 (Tuesday) | 7 pm | Away | Loyola Chicago | Chicago, Ill. (Gentile Arena) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 3, 2024 (Saturday) | 1:30 pm | Home | Fordham | Chaifetz Arena | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 7, 2024 (Wednesday) | 5:30 pm | Away | La Salle | Philadelphia, Pa. (Gola Arena) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 10, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | Saint Joseph’s | Philadelphia, Pa. (Hagan Arena) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 16, 2024 (Friday) | 6 pm | Home | VCU | Chaifetz Arena | ESPN2 | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 20, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 pm | Away | Duquesne | Pittsburgh, Pa. (UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse) | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 24, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 pm | Home | George Washington | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| February 28, 2024 (Wednesday) | 7 pm | Home | Richmond | Chaifetz Arena | Bally Sports Midwest | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 2, 2024 (Saturday) | 3 pm | Away | Rhode Island | Kingston, R.I. (Ryan Center) | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 5, 2024 (Tuesday) | 8 pm | Home | Dayton | Chaifetz Arena | CBSSN | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 11:30 am | Away | St. Bonaventure | St. Bonaventure, N.Y. (Reilly Center) | USA Network | KMOX 1120AM |
| March 12-17 Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament | TBA | Neutral | TBA | Brooklyn, N.Y. (Barclay’s Center) |