Ramblers done in by cold shooting in Horizon-opening loss

Loyola took many of the necessary steps to complete a comeback but never found itself on equal footing with its opponent.

Fortunate to be down just 7 points at halftime in Thursday night's Horizon League opener against Green Bay, the Ramblers began to rally. They patched up their interior defense, fought for loose balls, got the Phoenix into foul trouble, took away Green Bay's second-chance opportunities and created more of their own.

But the last step, basic shot-making, continued to trip up the Ramblers in a 69-63 loss. Loyola (2-5, 0-1) dropped its fifth consecutive game and third straight at home, marking its longest drought at the Gentile Center since 2003-04, Larry Farmer's final season as coach.

Jim Whitesell, the Ramblers' fourth-year coach, reeled off several of the inconsistencies that have plagued his offense. Then, he paused.

"Sometimes, you've got to make more shots," Whitesell said. "It's as simple as that."

Green Bay (6-2, 1-0) stopped making shots after taking a 50-39 lead with 10:59 left. The Phoenix, who lead the league in scoring, didn't score a field goal for the next 6:15.

But unable to mount a rapid scoring burst, Loyola could only chip away, never getting closer than 3 points despite reaching the double bonus with 6:48 left. Senior guard Tracy Robinson led the slow march with 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.

"We forced up some bad shots, myself included," said junior guard J.R. Blount, who scored a team-high 17 points but needed 20 shots to get there. "We've got to get the ball inside."

With Loyola entering the game shooting a league-low 26.7 percent from 3-point range, Green Bay sealed off the interior and forced the home squad to shoot. The visitors did, and the results weren't good (6-for-23).

"We knew where to jump and where to help," Phoenix guard Rahmon Fletcher said. "If we deny the post, we can mess up their timing. We did that a lot and forced them to shoot some 3s."

The Ramblers got to the foul line only twice in the final 6:48. They cut the deficit to 3 points three times in the final five minutes, but Terry Evans (16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) or Fletcher always answered.

Loyola outrebounded Green Bay 24-13 in the second half and forced 8 Phoenix turnovers, but it hit only one-third of its shots. After eclipsing 70 points in each of their first two games, the Ramblers have averaged just 54.8 points during the slide.

"Offensively, we just backed off," Whitesell said. "We certainly had the opportunity. Part of that is ball movement and execution. The other part of it is us being more aggressive in what we're trying to do, getting the ball in and out."

An answer could arrive Dec. 19, when guard Justin Cerasoli becomes eligible. The two-time transfer and former West Aurora star has the high-major speed and skills to potentially ignite a stagnant offense.

Until then, Loyola must find a way to survive.

"We always play hard," Blount said. "But we've got to play hard and smart."