Nov. 11, 2006

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Loyola University Chicago (1-1) mounted a late rally, but ultimately came up short in an 87-75 loss to No. 7 Ohio State (2-0) in the semifinal round of the Black Coaches Association Classic tonight at Value City Arena. The Ramblers, who were playing their highest-ranked foe since 2001, move into the consolation game tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. Eastern, where they will face IUPUI, which dropped an 81-74 decision to Kent State in the other semifinal game today.

"I thought we played better in the second half," Loyola head coach Jim Whitesell said. "We couldn't get the ball moved in the first half and Ohio State's defense forced us into an offense where we didn't move the ball. We lost to an excellent team. I thought we did a lot of positive things and we just need to come back tomorrow and play a very good IUPUI team."

Early baskets by Majak Kou and J.R. Blount put Loyola on top, 4-2, but then the Buckeyes reeled off a 12-1 run to take a 14-5 lead it would never relinquish. The Ramblers would cut the lead to five (16-11) on a dunk by Tom Levin, but Othello Hunter's basket 17 seconds later ignited a 16-4 run that helped Ohio State take a 44-29 lead at the half.

Loyola would chip away at the deficit, cutting OSU's lead to 62-50 with 10 minutes left to play, before Ivan Harris drained a three-pointer and Daequan Cook hit a lay-up, to put it back on top, 67-50, with 8:56 remaining.

After falling behind 79-59 with 5:05 left, the resilient Ramblers mounted one final charge against the nationally ranked Buckeyes on their home floor. Tracy Robinson, Blount and Blake Schilb each hit three-pointers in a 12-2 run that cut the deficit to 81-71 with two and a half minutes left, but Ohio State was able to hang on by hitting all six of its foul shots down the stretch.

Four Ramblers scored in double figures led by Schilb's 19-point effort. Blount chipped in 15 points, while Leon Young added 12 points and eight boards and Kou, making his first appearance of the season, tossed in 11 points.

Ron Lewis tallied a game-high 27 points to lead the Buckeyes, who also received 18 points from Cook.

Loyola faces IUPUI tomorrow in the third-place game of the BCA Classic, while Ohio State takes on in-state rival Kent State for the title.