Starting Lineup
PG: Jalen Cox, #3 (6’3”, Sr., G)
SG: Jonas de Krassel, #20 (6’4”, So., G)
SF: Jacoby Kelly, #14 (6’3”, Sr., G/F)
PF: Vincent Sampson, #30 (6’1”, Sr., F/C)
C: Parker Jones, #13 (6’6”, Sr., F/C)
The First Quarter
The Cubs start the game with a two pointer and then the Cats score a two pointer as well. Jones misses, but then later de Krassel runs and passes the ball back to Jones who then scores a two to put Cubs up 4-2. At 6:21, the Cubs score another 2 pointer and lead 6-2. The Cubs prevent the Cats from blocking and then de Krassel passes the ball to Cox who then throws the ball back to de Krassel. Unfortunately, he is unable to catch it, but Jones then scores a two-pointer at 5:40, giving the Cubs a 8-2 lead. The Cats then score at 5:17 giving them two more points. De Krassel scores another two-pointer at 5:04, and the Cats follow suit at 4:50, changing the scores to 10-6. Kelly scores at 4:36 with a 12-6 lead. The Cats pass the ball around but miss the shot. After some more attempted throws, the Cats score a two pointer. Cox, Kelly, Jones, and Sampson pass the ball to each other, but the Cats score another two pointer at 2:54 and cut the lead to 12-10. Cox later score a free throw at 1:48 with a score of 14-12. Jones scores another two pointer at 1:30 but the Cats then score a three pointer with a score of 16-13. After more points are scored and more shots are missed, the quarter ends with Loyola taking the lead of 20-13.
Score: 20-13 Loyola
The Second Quarter
Pentz immediately begins defending and soon the Cats miss their shot. After some passes, Pentz scores a two pointer at 7:22 with a 22-12 score. Wagner passes the ball to Pentz who then scores once again at 6:54 with a 24-13 lead. The Cubs score a three pointer at 6:05 with a 27-13 score. The Cats start passing the ball and after some missed shots, the Cubs score a two pointer at 4:29 with a 29-13 lead. Sampson scores a free throw and the Cubs earn a 31-13 lead. Pentz also scores a free throw giving the Cubs a 32-13 lead. At 3:15, the Cubs score another two pointer with a 34-13 lead. Stern steals the ball from the Cats but misses the shot. Luckily, Wagner scores a two pointer at 2:49, and the Cubs lead 36-13. After some maneuvering, the Cubs score another two pointer at 2:06 with 38-13. De Krassel scores another two pointer at 1:48 with a 40-13 lead. After some passing and misses, Cox goes and scores a three pointer at 1:08 with a 43-13 lead. At the last second, the Cats score a two pointer, changing the score to 43-15 right before the second quarter ends.
Score: 43-15 Loyola
The Third Quarter
De Krassel scores early with a two pointer at 7:51, earning Loyola a 45-15 lead. The Cubs start passing the ball around until the Cats get a hold of it only to miss. Jones also throws but the Cats block it. After more missed shots, the Cats score a three pointer at 6:27 with a 45-18 score. The Cats score two more points with 45-20 at 5:45. Later on, the Cubs score at 5:35 and 4:50 and now lead 50-20. The Cats miss their free throw and then de Krassel scores a two pointer at 4:20 with a 52-20 lead. Cox scores a two pointer at 4:06 with a 54-20 lead. The Cubs then pass the pass around each other until Kelly scores at 3:18. Jones gets a slam dunk at 2:53 with a 58-20 lead. Pentz scores at 2:42 with 60-20. Wagner misses the shot and then the Cats score a three pointer at 1:15 giving them 60-23. Cats score again at 1:04 with 60-25. Vandewedghe scores another two pointer at 48 seconds with 62-25. He then blocks a throw and scores again at 22 seconds with a 64-25. The score does not change from here to the end of the third quarter.
Score: 64-25 Loyola
The Fourth Quarter
Crisotomo passes the ball to Vandewedghe who then misses. He later manages to score at 7:10 with a 66-25 lead. He then passes the ball to Ferguson who then passes it to Stern. Cats later score at 6:12 to make it a 66-27 game. Labuschagne then scores at 4:35 with a 68-27 lead. After a long period of passing the ball, blocking the opposing team, and missing shots, the Cubs score a two pointer at 2:58 with 70-27. Cats score a two pointer with 70-29 and the round ends with the Cubs taking a huge lead.
FINAL: 70-29 Loyola
Postgame
After the game, Owen Pentz said, “Our team defense was the best it’s ever been. It’s scheduled so we have to keep our opponents to low-scoring games ‘cause of the championship and we all held them to below thirty so I’m really happy all around.” As for how the team felt before the game, he said, “We knew Number 1 was gonna be the best player. We picked him up full-court and denied him the whole game, and didn't want him to catch the ball. That’s one of the big reasons we won.” Finally, as for other people who helped win the game, Pentz said, “Really everybody. But Jonas did a great job guarding Number 1, Jalen - always a great job orchestrating the offense, Vincent and Jacoby did a great job rebounding, Parker - always a great job rebounding, great job on defense. It’s really a great performance all around.”
Next Game
The Cubs will face the Hart Indians today at 3:00 PM.