Robinson's tip rescues Ramblers
Rob Jeter paced the hallway outside Milwaukee's locker room, shouting to no one in particular.
"One (guy) standing under the hoop!" the third-year Milwaukee coach barked. "No one on him! It's Dereck Whittenburg and Houston!"
Anyone with a basic knowledge of college basketball's most memorable plays knew what Jeter was hollering about. Whittenburg's famous airball and Lorenzo Charles' dunk that helped N.C. State upset Houston in the 1983 NCAA championship game became an instant comparison after the wild finish to Loyola's 73-68 overtime win against Milwaukee on Saturday at the Gentile Center.
Down 56-54 with 6.5 seconds left in regulation and facing a disastrous 0-2 start to league play, Loyola inbounded to guard J.R. Blount (20 points). The junior came off a screen and launched a long 3-pointer, but Milwaukee's Torre Johnson deflected it.
The high-arcing shot dived sharply, seemingly taking Loyola's hopes with it. But Ramblers guard Tracy Robinson caught the fluttering ball short of the rim and laid it in with seven-tenths of a second left. Robinson's first points of the second half forced overtime.
"Everybody's pretty much ball-watching," said Robinson, who finished with a career-high 18 points. "So I got the rebound in position and put it in."
Added Loyola coach Jim Whitesell: "That certainly wasn't by design."
Nothing has been this season for Loyola, which snapped a five-game losing streak. The Ramblers (3-5, 1-1) never trailed in overtime, opening the extra period with 3-point plays by Leon Young and Robinson.
Loyola seemingly had control early in the second half, taking a 38-27 lead with 14:32 left. But Milwaukee (3-6, 0-2) began to dominate inside, outrebounding the Ramblers 17-7 down the stretch. Milwaukee had the ball and a 2-point lead with 11.2 seconds left, but Ricky Franklin ran into Blount on the inbounds play, drawing a charging call with no time ticking off.
"Someone's got to come up with a play," Whitesell said.
Young (21 points, 14 rebounds) made plays all game, recording his first double-double in nearly a year shortly after halftime. The junior eclipsed 20 points for the first time since Dec. 30, 2006, and recorded a career high for rebounds.
His motivation?
"Obviously, a five-game losing streak," Young said.
Whitesell shuffled his rotation, starting freshman Geoff McCammon, a Conant High product, and using Aric Van Weelden (5 points) for most of the second half. Johnson led Milwaukee with 19 points, and Paige Paulsen added 17.
"Sometimes, you get a little luck," Whitesell said, "but also at times we played pretty good basketball."