Loyola Chicago got some revenge for last March’s Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinal, running away from the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team on the Ramblers’ home court.
Bona trailed Loyola by nine at halftime, but only fell further behind in the second half, losing 77-53 at Gentile Arena in Chicago.
Melvin Council’s 13 points on 6-of-11 field-goal shooting produced a team-high 13 points for the Bonnies (17-7, 5-6); starting guards Chance Moore and Jonah Hinton added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Ramblers took a 22-12 lead after a seven-minute Bona field goal drought, but the Bonnies cut the lead to 25-24 with 2:12 remaining after back-to-back 3-pointers from Hinton and Noah Bolanga. But Loyola had an immediate answer, closing the half on an 8-0 run.
Leading by 11 under two minutes into the second half, Loyola remained ahead by double-digits the rest of the night, stretching the lead ast high as 27 with a minute remaining.
Loyola guard Des Watson led all scorers with 17 points, while center Miles Rubin had 15 points and nine boards, Jayden Dawson had 14 points and Sheldon Edwards Jr. had 11 points.
The Ramblers (14-8, 5-4) shot a scorching 59.6% from the field and 72.0% in the second half. Bona shot just 38.5% from the field, 27.8% on 3-pointers and turned the ball over 16 times.
Loyola out-rebounded Bona 33-23 and held a 38-28 advantage in points in the paint. And for the first time this season, Bona center Noel Brown finished the night without a field goal, scoring four points on four free throws.
“We cut it to (seven) in the second half (33-26), but they were just more physical than us,” coach Mark Schmidt said. “We’re not going to win many games when Noel doesn’t have a field goal.”
Back below .500 in the A-10, Bona returns to action on Super Bowl Sunday with a noon tipoff at the Reilly Center against George Washington.