Loyola stays out of Horizon basement
Aric Van Weelden left the court with a chipped tooth, a memento from a plucky performance.
Leon Young's face flushed red as he exited, the result of playing 28 minutes just three weeks after a bout with pneumonia.
These were the signs of a team that finally decided to take a stand.
"When they punched us, we actually punched them back," Loyola guard J.R. Blount said. "That's something we haven't been doing."
Loyola took Detroit's best punches and held on for a 71-65 victory Thursday night at the Gentile Center. The Ramblers (6-11, 2-5) snapped a four-game slide and beat a Division I opponent for the first time since Dec. 15.
They also stayed out of the Horizon League basement, a spot leased out to Detroit (4-13, 0-7), which dropped its 11th straight.
After a back-and-forth second half, Detroit found itself in position to deliver the final blow with 15.1 seconds left. Predictably, the Titans inbounded to guard Jon Goode, the league's scoring leader, who finished with a career-high 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting.
Goode drove but surprisingly gave up the ball to sophomore Josh Samarco, whose 3-pointer hit iron. Blount grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2.7 seconds left.
"I was surprised," Blount said. "It looked like their coach did a little decoy play."
Loyola coach Jim Whitesell speculated that his Detroit counterpart, interim coach Kevin Mondro, wanted the ball in Goode's hands. But Blount defended Goode well and Van Weelden shaded over, forcing a pass to an open Samarco.
"I can understand why he kicked it because (Blount) was up in him pretty well," Whitesell said.
Blount led Loyola with 23 points and Young added 19, the most the Ramblers have received from a bench player this season. Young added 8 rebounds and went 9-for-10 from the foul line as the Ramblers held off hot-shooting Detroit (54.5 percent).
After Goode tied the game at 63-63 on a contested 3-pointer, Young took a feed from Andy Polka, drew a foul and hit 2 free throws, giving Loyola the lead for good.
"I'm 100 percent," said Young, who missed four games. "I was a little tired out there today, but it all ended up right."
Following an unsightly start that featured 7 turnovers in the first 9:12, Loyola needed gutsy performances from Van Weelden and senior Dave Telander (8 first-half points).
Telander's shooting helped Loyola during a 20-6 run late in the first half, and Van Weelden ran the point for most of the game.
Starting guard Justin Cerasoli sat for the final 26:07 after committing 3 turnovers in eight minutes.
"You've got to take care of the ball, simple as that," Whitesell said. "He'll learn from the experience."
The lessons should come easier after a win.
"We're starting to get it," Young said. "We're starting to understand what we've got to do."