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McCammon leads Loyola past San Francisco, 66-63

San Francisco did a little of everything to whittle away Loyola's 10-point, second-half lead.

The Dons drilled 3-pointers, pounded the ball inside to midmajor All-American Dior Lowhorn and forced turnovers that became fastbreak layups.

Then San Francisco went too far with 14.2 seconds to go - when Loyola led by 1 and had to set up an inbounds play after a timeout.

"I was like, 'We're never going to be able to get open,' " said Loyola senior forward Andy Polka. "I just looked over to the ref and said, 'They've got six guys on the floor.' "

Sure enough, freshman center Perris Blackwell hadn't realized Dons coach Rex Walters took him out for a smaller, quicker defender.

San Francisco (3-7) was hit with a technical foul, Terrance Hill sank both free throws, and the Ramblers (6-2) escaped with a 66-63 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Gentile Center.

"The onus is on me," Walters said.

Polka's quick math skills capped a day filled with big numbers for Loyola's most experienced player. He delivered 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists.

"Good pickup by Andy because I didn't notice that," said Loyola coach Jim Whitesell. "We got a little bit of a gift there."

Most of the way, Loyola didn't need any help as Geoff McCammon, the junior guard from Conant High School, continued his recent hot spell.

McCammon drilled 6 of his first 7 shots, including three 3-pointers, to stake the Ramblers to a 30-23 lead.

McCammon finished with 21 points (1 off his career high) on 9-of-13 shooting. Whitesell appreciated his 12-foot pullup jumper with 2:15 left that put Loyola up 64-59. It served as the Ramblers' last points until the technical free throws.

"What a huge shot," Whitesell said. "It was like, we can breathe again."

"Coach always just says, 'Run the offense and the shots will come,' " McCammon said.

Indeed, the Ramblers ran their sets patiently and purposefully all game.

It must have looked like a foreign brand of ball to the guests of honor in the crowd.

Loyola celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1985 squad that roared into the Sweet Sixteen and averaged 83.5 points per game while doing it.

Most of the players from that team - including all-time gunner Alfredrick Hughes, point guard Carl Golston and shooting guard Andre Battle - showed up to reminisce, accept applause at halftime and enjoy a postgame reception.

"It's been awhile since I've seen a lot of these people," said Battle, who's a social worker at the Cook County Jail. "It's a good feeling to be back here in the atmosphere. I enjoyed it."

Hughes, who averaged 26.3 points and 22.9 shots per game in 1984-85 and became the San Antonio Spurs' first-round pick, says he plays in tournaments for guys 45-and-up and hasn't changed a thing.

"I'm going to shoot the ball," Hughes said with a smile. "I'm going to jack it up. I'm going to jack it up 'til I die."

Geoff McCammon goes up for 2 of his game-high 21 points against San Francisco on Saturday at the Gentile Center. Courtesy of Steve Woltmann, Loyola
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