The 1-0 Cubs played the West Ranch Wildcats in the Providence Tournament on Wednesday, November 14. Loyola led 8-4 with less than 7:30 in the first quarter. West Ranch converted a three-point-play to cut the Cubs’ lead down to 1, 8-7. Later, the game was tied at 13 with 2:40 to go. With 1:05 to play, CJ Jones tied the game at 17 with a layup. After, the Wildcats scored off of three free throws. CJ Jones turned the ball over with 2.2 seconds left. At the end of the first quarter, West Ranch led Loyola 20-17.
In the second quarter, Brooks got fouled on a left side post-up with 7:10 left in the quarter. He converted both of his free throws. He also blocked a shot, and the Cubs’ transition offense led to a layup by sophomore guard John Belardi. Brooks was also fouled with less than six minutes to play, and he made one of his two attempts. Belardi made a three that tied the game at 25 with 5:03 remaining in the quarter. With less than four minutes remaining in the first half, Jones made a layup to pull the Cubs within 2, 27-29. Senior guard Neil Owens was fouled at the 2:51 mark, and converted both of his free throws. Keefe was fouled with 2:08 remaining, and made one of two free throws. With less than two minutes to go, Jones grabbed a rebound, and senior forward Anthony Lucenti scored another deuce on a layup. Lucenti also found Brooks for a two point shot to help the Cubs regain the lead, 34-33. Jones had an out-of-bounds turnover with 6.2 seconds remaining. The Cubs led 34-33 at halftime, with Jones scoring 9 points.
In the beginning of the third quarter, Keefe started a 4-0 run for Loyola. He stole the ball and converted a three-point-play. He then had another steal and another bucket, putting the Cubs up 37-33 with around 7 minutes remaining. Lucenti grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback layup with 6:15 to go. Jones was fouled with 5:56 remaining, and made both of his free throws. Owens made a corner three with 5:56 to go. Then, Jones stole the ball, and Lucenti scored a two-pointer with 4:40 to go. With less than two minutes remaining in the third, Keefe got a block, and Brooks completed an alley-oop from Keefe. Shortly after, Lucenti stole the ball, which resulted in a 3 for Butler. Loyola ended the third on a 5-0 run and led West Ranch 58-45.
In the fourth quarter, Brooks was fouled at the 6:13 marked and knocked down both of his attempts from the stripe. A West Ranch player was fouled moments later, but failed to complete the three-point-play. Brooks was also fouled with 5:13 to go, and he made one of his two free throws. A three by Jones expanded the Cubs’ lead to 14. With Owens’ two made free throws, the Cubs led West Ranch 70-54 with less than five minutes to go. Keefe was then fouled with 2:27 left, making one of his two free throws. Later on, Jones stole the ball, which led to a Butler bucket with less than two minutes to play. The quarter was highlighted by James Keefe’s back-to-back dunks with a minute left to play. Junior forward Grant Roquemore punctuated the game with a layup with 33 seconds left.
The Cubs beat the Wildcats 79-60. CJ Jones had 15 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. The Cubs shot 53% from the field and 35% from 3. They also made 17 of their 22 free throws (77%). The Cubs also had 32 total rebounds, 21 assists, 9 steals, and 15 turnovers.
Coach Chad Yates said, “We started off with our defense, played hard, talked a lot, and got easy buckets.” When asked about the communication, he responded, “It was better today. [It] came from our bench. We were missing a guy, James Nugent, he’s the catalyst on our bench that holds us down. We had him back, [and] the bench was loud and proud.”
Keefe said, “In the second half, we really turned on the gas, stretched out the lead, and took care of business at the end of the game.” He added, ”We play how well we communicate in a lot of cases."
Keefe had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. Yates said, “He played well today. He got a couple dunks. He’s got to stop settling for jumpshots. Other than that, he needs to talk, keep his hands up, and we’re going through him.”
To prepare for their match against Providence on Friday, Yates said, “We’re gonna make sure we’re locked in to their two key guys, and try to beat the fan crowd too. It’s gonna be loud in here, so we’re gonna have to pick up our communication a little bit more.” Keefe stated, “We’ll watch film, look at a couple of their plays. If we play our game, not too many teams can beat us.”
The Cubs face Providence High School (2-0) on the Pioneers’ home court on Friday, November 16, at 6:30 pm.