By Hal McCoy
Chicago, ILL. — The University of Dayton basketball team’s wake-up call came too late Friday night at Loyola Chicago.
The Flyers overslept.
By the time their alarm clocks went off, the Flyers were down by 13 points with 10 1/2 minutes left.
They then jumped out of their pajamas and cut that lead to two points four times, the last time with 07.7 seconds left.
But Loyola’s Des Watson buried a pair of free throw after a dubious foul call on Enosh Cheeks to put the Flyers away, 76-72.
It was an argument for third place in the Atlantic 10 and Loyola grabbed it in their cigar box Gentile Arena (More like Gentile Gym), where the Ramblers are 14-1.
Loyola is 9-5 in the A-10 and the fourth-place Flyers are 8-6 and in danger of losing the double bye in the conference tournamen. The top four teams receive double byes.
Nate Santos scored the game’s first two points, but he quickly picked up two fouls and sat most of the first half as a disgruntled non-paying spectator.
But when the Flyers fell behind, 56-43, in the second half, Santos took command like a captain of a sinking ship.
He scored 12 of UD’s next 16 points, dancing toward the basket like a Russina ballerina, and his two free throws with 4 1/2 minutes left enabled the Flyers to creep with two, 61-59.
But two minutes later, with 2:03 left and UD four in arrears, 68-64, Santos fouled out on a dubious call away from the ball as he tried to scramble through a screen.
He scored 16 of his team-best 18 in the second half.
It was one of three fouls called against the Flyers that raised UD coach Anthony Grant’s blood pressure to a dangerous level.
“Honestly, I’m just really disappointed because there were three pivotal calls that went against us that were crucial,” he said. “I just gotta call ‘em out.
“There was an offensive charge called on Mali (Malachi Smith) and I went back and looked at it. Clearly, to me, I don’t know how you make that call.
“Nate’s fifth foul. . .at that point in the game, to take one of your best players off the floor. . .”
And with the Flyers down two, 74-72, with :07.7 left, there was a scramble for the ball and Enoch Cheeks appeared to have Des Watson tied up for a held ball.
But they whistled a foul on Cheeks and Watson buried the two clinching free throws.
“We told them (the officials) we weren’t fouling on that play and (Cheeks) clearly had two hands on the ball,” said Grant.
“So that makes it hard,” he added. “I’m not trying to take anything away from Loyola, but those were three big calls in a game that was back-and-forth down the stretch. . .but that’s life on the road.”
It was a different way for Loyola to win with a ‘full house’ of 4,567 egging them on.
Loyola’s Jayden Dawson had scored 24, 26 and 24 in his three previous games and scored 19 against the Flyers in a game earlier this season in UD Arena, a game the Flyers won, 83-81, in overtime.
The Flyers held Dawson to five points and, like
Santos, he fouled out late in the game.
Loyola leads the A10 in three-point shooting, 38 percent of their offense coming from deep. But they made only 5 of 14 this night, 35.7%.
Instead, like Olivia Newtwon-John and like so many UD opponents this season, the Ramblers got physical under the basket, particularly in the first half.
Miles Rubin, a 6-10 sophomore from just down the street from Loyola’s gym, scored two points for the Ramblers in UD Arena. On Friday night, he gave UD’s 7-foot-1 Amael L’Etang an under-the-basket tutorial.
He scored 14 points on six of eight shooting as he looked like Big Bird strolling down Sesame Strteet.
And he lived up to his reputation as the A-10s top shot rejecter by swatting away four UD shots, including one crucial one in the final minute.
Watson, who clinched it with his two free throws, led all scorers with 22. The 6-5 senior guard from Columbus is playing for his third D-1 team — Ohio State, Davidson and Loyola.
The Ramblers compensated for their errant three-point missed by making 22 of 40 two-pointeers, 32 of their 76 points in the paint.
On this night, the Flyers were The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. They were 24 of 62 from the field (38.7%) and 6 for 25 (24&) from three. And they were 3 for 17 from three in the second half.
In the final moments, when they were down, 70-66, they missed four shots on one possession — A Rubin blocked shot, two threes by Enoch Cheeks and one by Javon Bennett.
In addition to Santos’ 18, Cheeks scored 16 and had seven rebounds, Bennett scored 11 and L’Etang scored 10, but sat most of the second half because he held open house for Rubin near the basket.
After Watson’s 22 and Rubin’s 14, Jalen Quinn scored 11, Jalen DeLaroch scored 10 and Shannon Edwards contribued 10. The Ramblers had 19 assists out of their 27 baskets.
The game was tied three times and there were five lead changes, all in the first half. Loyola led, 34-31, at the half and never relinquished the lead.
The Flyers made it close at the end, but close only counts with two in a sleeping bag and a near-miss collision on the interstate.