In their second game of the Paul Sutton Tip Off Classic, the Cubs faced the host school, the Providence Pioneers, as they looked to continue their hot start to the season.

Starting Lineup

PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’3”, Sr., G)

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

SF: Luca Labuschagne, #22 (6’4”, Jr, F)

PF: Hugh Vandeweghe, #24 (6’6”, So., F/C)

C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr, G/C)

First Quarter

The Pioneers win the tip, but shot clock malfunctions lead to a brief pause in the action.  Once the issue is resolved, the Pioneers take the ball out of bounds but fail to score.  Vandeweghe gets a steal but can’t score either.  This brief drought is broken by a Cox layup to get Loyola on the board first with seven minutes left.  The Pioneers are sent to the free-throw line, where they make both shots to tie the game at the 6:33 mark.  A Vandeweghe triple gives the Cubs the lead again with 5:45 to go.  Another Cox layup extends the lead to five with five minutes left, but Providence counters with a layup of its own thirty seconds later.  Parker Jones finds Cox for an easy layup with four minutes remaining.  The Pioneers drain a three at the 3:30 mark, cutting the Cubs’ lead down to two, 9-7.  Following a Pioneers bucket, back-to-back layups from Cox and de Krassel give the Cubs a 13-9 lead with 2:30 left in the opening period.  The Cubs get a steal but Jones gets called for a foul after a block, leading to two made free throws by Providence.  After two more layups from seniors Vincent Sampson and Matthias Wagner, the Cubs lead 17-11 with under a minute left.  Cox gets a steal but misses the jam, yet Wagner is there for a putback layup.  The Cubs now lead 19-11 with 1:21 left, and their consistently incredible defense leads to three backcourt violations by the Pioneers.  Loyola can’t get a shot off, and the quarter ends following great two-way play to begin the game.

Score: 19-11 Loyola

Second Quarter

The Pioneers get the ball, but miss a three to start the second quarter.  A scoring drought from both teams is stopped by a tough layup from Wagner, giving the Cubs a ten-point lead with 5:41 to go.  Afterward, Wagner is given a technical foul, which leads to two made free throws from Providence.  A triple from Cox makes it a 24-13 Loyola lead with 5:05 left.  A fast break leads to a layup from Ferguson, and the Cubs continue their offensive momentum with a three from Jones with 4:07 left in the half.  The Cubs now lead 29-11.  They commit a foul that sends the Pioneers to the line at the 3:49 mark, and Providence makes both free throws.  The Pioneers continue to storm back, with a crossover and triple making it a 29-18 ball game with 3:12 to go.  However, the Cubs simply cannot be stopped on offense.  In the final three minutes, a Vandeweghe three and layups from Cox and Pentz contribute to a 19-point halftime lead.

Score: 36-17 Loyola

Third Quarter

The starters reemerge for the Cubs in the second half.  The Pioneers have possession and get the shooter’s bounce on a three at the 7:20 mark.  Jones counters with a three of his own, and the score is 39-20 in favor of the Cubs.  The three-point battle continues, as Providence drains another one from outside.  The Pioneers make two free throws with 6:29 remaining to cut the lead down to 14.  De Krassel makes a tough layup at the 6:13 mark, but Providence’s red hot perimeter shooting continues, draining another one with six minutes left.  A deep three from Jones goes in with five minutes left, and he follows that up with a midrange jumper at the 4:20 mark.  A layup from Cox makes it a 20-point lead, leading to a Pioneer timeout.  Providence is fouled on a three with 3:46 left, and makes two of three free throws.  A defiant block from Cox gets the bench off its feet, and after two offensive rebounds, Jones gets a layup to go with 2:45 remaining.  The score is now 50-30 Cubs.  The Pioneers lay it up and in at the 2:13 mark, but de Krassel gets a layup of his own shortly after.  Another Jones three makes it a 55-32 ball game with 1:10 left.  The Pioneers drain another jumper with 53 seconds to go.  A fast break leads to a two-hand Jones jam with 45 seconds left.  Providence scores another layup with 15 seconds to go, but the Cubs still lead 57-36.  The Cubs get two free throws, and Jones sinks them both to give the Cubs a 23-point lead heading into the fourth, powered by Jones’s 17 third-quarter points.

Score: 59-36 Loyola

Fourth Quarter

The Cubs get the ball to begin the final frame.  A dime from Jones leads to a Wagner bucket with 7:30 remaining.  The Pioneers still have their burners on from three, drilling another one ten seconds later.  Sampson is sent to the free throw line at the 7:11 mark, where he makes one of two.  The Pioneers make another three to cut the lead to only 20, 62-42, with under seven minutes to play.  The Cubs continue to show their offensive prowess with a Cox jumper and two made free throws from Sampson in the following minute, giving them a 66-42 lead with six minutes to play.  Providence makes--you guessed it--another three with 5:46 remaining, but the Cubs are still in control, 66-45.  With 5:20 left, Sampson lays it up and in but the Pioneers are sent to the line shortly after.  They make both free throws with 5:15 remaining in the game.  A jumper from Pentz gets the Cubs to 70 points with under five minutes to play.  Max Stern makes a layup at the 4:40 mark.  Two made free throws and yet another three from Providence make it a 72-52 ball game with 3:45 to go.  Stern finds Pentz for the layup at the 3:30 mark, but the Pioneers make one on the other end.  The Cubs reach the bonus with 3:10 to play, and Wagner drills both free throws to make it a 76-54 Loyola lead.  Pentz lays it up and in again with 2:40 remaining.  Jeric Calleja gets a layup to fall with two minutes left, and Providence ends their hot shooting night from three with two more triples in the final minute.  The Cubs’ two-way play earns them another win in the Providence tournament, dominating from start to finish to begin the season 2-0.

FINAL: 80-60

Cub of the Game: Parker Jones ‘22

Tonight’s Cub of the Game is the sharpshooting big man Parker Jones, who finished the evening with 20 points and an aforementioned 17-point eruption in the third.  Following his performance, Jones said, “I got off to a rough start, personally, but luckily Jalen chipped in and did most of the scoring.  It’s a big thing when you have a good chemistry, cause a lot of guys, instead of putting me down, they were hyping me up.”  He continued, “I’m really proud of how we played too.  We passed the ball a lot, we were sharing the ball, and I think we played with a lot of confidence.”

The Next Game

The following game in the Providence tournament will be played on Friday, November 19, but the time and opponent will be determined based on where the Cubs finish in their pool.  Follow the varsity schedule for updates.