Ramble on … UIC wins in 2 OTs
Both Illinois-Chicago and Loyola were starving for their first wins of 2008 -- and they played like they wouldn't get any more chances after Saturday night.
Neither Horizon League rival had gone double overtime in a game since 2001, but the Flames and the Ramblers fought too hard to settle things in regulation.
UIC canned 6 of 6 free throws in the final 28 seconds of the second OT to hold off Loyola 78-68 before 5,149 at the UIC Pavilion.
"When you win that game, you're ecstatic," said Loyola coach Jim Whitesell, who slammed his hand on the scorer's table after a particularly irksome moment in overtime. "When you lose it, it's very hard."
The Ramblers (5-11, 1-5), who dropped their fourth in a row, forced overtime on J.R. Blount's 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds to go.
They also had the final shots to win in the first overtime, but Blount missed a tough runner and a hurried jumper at the buzzer.
UIC (9-7, 3-2) never allowed Loyola to sniff victory in the second overtime as 7-foot junior Scott VanderMeer tipped in Jeremy Buttell's miss to trigger a 7-0 run.
The 265-pound VanderMeer epitomized the shorthanded Flames' effort.
After power forward Jermaine Dailey went out with a potentially serious left knee injury with seven minutes left in the first half, VanderMeer re-entered the game and never left it again.
"He wouldn't let Coach take him out," said UIC guard Josh Mayo as Jimmy Collins beamed nearby.
VanderMeer wound up playing a career-high 46 minutes -- 13 more than ever before -- and delivering 13 points, a career-high 15 rebounds and 4 blocks.
"He changed the game on defense," Loyola forward Andy Polka said.
VanderMeer wasn't the only one to do so -- and he wasn't the only one to push himself above and beyond.
UIC leading scorer Josh Mayo (20 points) dislocated his left pinky finger late in regulation and left the game only because of officials' orders.
UIC senior guard Karl White fouled out late in regulation, but not until he reeled off 11 points (and assisted on the other 4 points) in a five-minute stretch to turn a 33-29 deficit into a 44-39 lead.
White finished with 19 points and 5 assists.
Loyola leading scorer Blount limped around on his bad left knee for a team-high 46 minutes but ignored it often enough to deliver a season-high 23 points.
Blount, along with senior Cortney Horton (who's playing despite a torn labrum), hounded Mayo into 5-of-19 shooting.
After Blount sent the game into overtime with his pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the key, backcourt mate Justin Cerasoli threatened to take over during extra time.
The 2004 West Aurora grad, who produced a collegiate-best 21 points, scored all but 2 of Loyola's points in overtime.
"He's able to break down pretty much anybody, and that's what he was doing," Blount said. "He utilized his pull-up jump shot to shoot over smaller guards."
But Cerasoli didn't score in double overtime until 1:57 remained, by which time UIC owned a two-possession lead for good.