After playing three games in five nights, the Cubs looked to erase their two-game skid as they faced the Chaminade Eagles at Leavey Gymnasium.

Starting Lineup

PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’4”, Sr., PG)

SG: Jonas de Krassel, #20 (6’4”, So., SG)

SF: Vincent Sampson, #30 (6’1”, Sr., F/C)

PF: Jacoby Kelly, #31 (6’3”, Sr., F/C)

C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr., G/F/C)

First Quarter

The Eagles win the opening tip but fail to capitalize on the opportunity.  A series of missed shots ends with Sampson’s layup at the 6:46 mark.  The Eagles respond with a layup of their own shortly after.  The Eagles get a steal and layup to take a 4-2 lead with six minutes left.  Jones’s two-pointer ties things up with five minutes remaining.  The Eagles are sent to the line with 3:56 to go and make one of two.  They make two more free throws with 2:39 to go and the Cubs call a timeout shortly after.  Kelly makes an and-one layup with 2:26 remaining but misses the following free throw.  The Cubs’ full-court press forces an Eagle turnover with 2:20 left, but the Cubs fail to capitalize as Chad Crisostomo misses a floater.  Crisostomo finds Cox for an easy layup with 1:37 left to take an 8-7 lead.  The 5’8” junior then buries a triple with 57 seconds left to extend Loyola’s lead to four.  The Eagles get a putback layup to drop with 31 seconds to go, and neither team scores to wrap up the period.

Score: 11-9 Loyola

Second Quarter

The Cubs get the ball to begin the second quarter, but Crisostomo misses a shot.  The Eagles drain a deep triple with 7:30 left to regain the lead, 12-11.  Their putback layup at the 6:47 mark makes it a 14-11 ball game.  Jones is fouled at the 5:26 mark and makes both free throws.  He gets a steal and layup with around five minutes left to give the Cubs a 15-14 lead.  Chaminade buries another three to take a 17-15 lead with 4:05 remaining.  De Krassel finds Vandeweghe for a triple with under four minutes left.  The Eagles get a two to go with 2:24 remaining and lead 19-18.  The rally continues as Cox’s layup puts the Cubs up 20-19 with 1:30 left.  Cox then finds Pentz for a three with 56 seconds remaining.  The Eagles miss a jumper at the buzzer, and the Cubs lead by four at halftime.

Score: 23-19 Loyola

Third Quarter

The Eagles get the ball to start the second half and immediately miss a three.  Cox finds de Krassel for the easy layup with 7:27 to go.  Sampson gets a putback layup to fall with 6:47 remaining, and the Cubs lead by eight, which forces Chaminade to call a timeout.  The Eagles get a fastbreak layup for their first points of the half at the 5:25 mark.  Jones soars for a chasedown block with five minutes left, but the Cubs turn it over right after.  Cox completes a three-point-play with 4:29 left, and the Cubs are on a 7-2 run to open up the third quarter.  Wagner makes a putback layup with 3:46 remaining, which makes it a 32-21 lead in favor of the Cubs.  Toliver gets a steal with 2:15 to go, and after some confusion, what was supposed to be free throws for Pentz winds up with the Cubs inbounding the ball on the baseline.  Toliver misses a two-pointer with under two minutes remaining.  The Eagles make a layup with 1:04 to go.  Cox is fouled with 55 seconds left and makes both free throws.  The Cubs lead 34-23.  The Eagles come right back with a jumper at the 32-second mark.  Another Jones block leads to a Cox to de Krassel lob-and-lay that beats the buzzer.  The Cubs are up by double-digits at the end of three.

Score: 36-25 Loyola

Fourth Quarter

The Eagles have possession to begin the final frame and drain a three with 7:34 remaining.  The Cubs call a timeout with under seven minutes left.  Jacoby Kelly gets a layup to fall with 6:14 remaining.  The Eagles bury another three with five minutes left, and the Cubs call timeout five seconds later, with their lead cut to seven, 38-31.  Vandeweghe gets a steal with 4:42 remaining, but the Cubs turn it over right after.  The Eagles drain another triple with 3:45 left and now it is a four-point ball game.  Cox is fouled with 3:43 to play, and he makes one of two.  Jones gets fouled, putting the Cubs in the bonus with 3:16 to play; he makes both, and the Cubs are up 41-34.  The Eagles swish a floater with 2:50 remaining to cut the lead to five.  Wagner makes a jumper to beat the shot clock with under two minutes remaining.  Cox steals the ball, Pentz misses a jumper, but Vandeweghe is right there for a putback layup with 1:41 remaining.  This leads to a Chaminade timeout right after.  They get a layup to go with 1:21 to play.  Vandeweghe is fouled with 53 seconds left and makes one of two.  Wagner is sent to the line with 32 seconds remaining and makes both free throws to give the Cubs a 48-38 lead.  The Eagles make a concession layup with 23 seconds to play.  Wagner is fouled again with 12 seconds left and makes one of two to put the game away.  The Cubs hang on to earn their third win in the Mission League and 19th victory overall.

FINAL: 49-40 Loyola

Postgame

Jalen Cox ‘22 led the Cubs in scoring with 10 points.  He also had six assists, three rebounds, two steals and two blocks.  Parker Jones ‘22 had eight points, eight rebounds, five blocks, an assist and steal.  Matthias Wagner ‘22 rounded out the top-three scorers with seven points, while also contributing three rebounds and two steals.

My postgame interview with Cox can be found here.

The Next Game

The Cubs play Beverly Hills High School at home on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 5:00 PM.