After clinching the Mission League regular season championship on January 25, the Cubs faced the Chaminade Eagles in the first game of the Mission League Tournament.  They won 61-60.

Starting Cubs

PG: Neil Owens (6-1, Sr., #3)

SG: Mason Butler (6-1, Sr., #10)

SF: CJ Jones (6-5, Sr., #13)

PF: Anthony Lucenti (6-4, Sr., #30)

C: James Keefe (6-9, Sr., #22)

1st Quarter

The Cubs won the opening tip.  Anthony Lucenti’s layup gave the Cubs a 2-0 lead to start the first quarter.  After numerous turnovers by both teams, Mason Butler buried a three to put the Cubs up 5-0 with 6:40 to go.  James Keefe got a block but a jump ball was called with Chaminade regaining possession. The Eagles scored their first points of the game off of a two-pointer with 6:17 remaining.  Keefe made a layup, but did not make the free throw that followed. The Cubs led 7-2 with 6:11 to go. Keefe’s layup increased the Cubs’ lead to 7 with 5:10 left. The Eagles made a layup and the Cubs led 9-4 with 3:30 left in the quarter.  A Lucenti layup brought the lead back to 7 with 3:10 left. Keefe’s layup expanded the Cubs lead to 9, 13-4, with 2:50 left. A layup by the Eagles brought the lead back to seven, 13-6, with 2:35 to go. Colby Brooks subbed in for Neil Owens at the 2:32 mark.  The Eagles went on a 5-0 run to bring the game to a two-point deficit, 13-11, with 1:27 remaining. Owens subbed in for Keefe at the one-minute mark. With 22 seconds to go, Brooks made a layup, but missed the following free throw. The Eagles made a two-pointer with two seconds left to end the quarter.

Score: Loyola 15, Chaminade 13.

2nd Quarter

Brooks’ two-pointer gave the Cubs a 17-13 lead with 2:50 to go.  Brooks made one of two free throws to increase the lead to five with 7:32 to go.  Shortly after, Jones subbed in for Lucenti. Owens was fouled at the 7:05 mark, and made both of his free throws.  A two-pointer by Jared Cox gave the Cubs a 22-13 lead with 6:49 to go. The Eagles called a timeout soon after. After two consecutive offensive rebounds, the Eagles made a layup with 6:30 to go, with the Cubs still leading 22-15.  The Eagles made a putback layup to come within five with 5:47 to go. Butler and Lucenti came in for Jack Kresich and Colby Brooks at the 5:40 mark. Two made free throws by the Eagles cut the lead to three, 22-19, with 5:23 to go in the first half.  The Eagles made a putback layup to come within one with 4:50 left. A three by Jones put the Cubs up 4, 25-21, with 4:33 left. Chaminade called timeout soon after. A Keefe steal and James layup gave the Cubs a six-point lead with less than four minutes to go.  The Eagles went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to one with 3:09 left. Butler’s two-pointer put the Cubs up by three with 2:40 to go. Keefe’s putback layup increased the lead to five, 31-26, with 1:45 remaining. The Eagles made two free throws to come within three with 1:39 left.  Kresich subbed in for Keefe at the 1:14 mark. The Eagles made a putback layup to cut the lead to one with 36 seconds left. That was the last made shot of the quarter.

Score: Loyola 31, Chaminade 30.

Halftime

Coach Adams says the team did not box out or close out, allowing many offensive rebounds to Chaminade.  He also emphasized ball movement and said the team needed to play smarter in the second half.

3rd Quarter

Chaminade got the first possession of the second half.  Keefe’s layup put the Cubs up 33-30 with 7:26 to play. A three by Owens increased the lead to six with around seven minutes left.  The Cubs’ 5-0 run was answered by a 6-0 run by the Eagles, who tied the game at 36 with 4:41 to go in the quarter. Brooks subbed in for Butler at the 4:23 mark.  Keefe was fouled with less than four minutes remaining. He missed both free throws. Owens converted a three-point-play to put the Cubs up 39-36 with 3:36 to go. Shortly after, Butler subbed in for Jones.  A brief 4-0 Eagles run gave them a 40-39 lead over the Cubs with 2:06 left. Cox and Jones subbed in for Brooks and Owens with 1:50 left in the quarter. A James Keefe jam put the Cubs back in front, 41-40, with 40 seconds to go.  The Eagles made a three to gain a two-point lead with 25 seconds left. Butler buried a three to give the Cubs the lead with four seconds left.

Score: Loyola 44, Chaminade 43.

4th Quarter

The Cubs got the first possession of the final frame.  Butler made one of two free throws, and the Cubs led 45-43 with 7:56 to go.  Two made free throws by the Eagles tied the game at 45 with 6:41 to play. Owens subbed in for Cox shortly after.  Butler’s two-pointer gave the Cubs the lead at the 6:20 mark. Keefe made one of two free throws to extend the lead to three with 5:47 remaining.  Jones’s two-pointer gave the Cubs a five-point lead, 50-45, with 5:06 to go. The Cubs called a timeout at the 4:36 mark. A Lucenti layup put the Cubs up by seven with 4:15 remaining.  The Eagles made a putback layup, and the Cubs led 52-47 with 3:35 left. Butler’s layup brought the game back to a seven-point deficit at the 3:10 mark. Owens made one of two free throws, and the Cubs led 55-47 with 2:28 remaining.  Two made free throws by the Eagles brought the deficit back to six with 2:09 to go. Jones made one of two free throws to give the Cubs a 56-49 lead with 2:06 to play. The Eagles responded with a two-pointer to come within five at the two-minute mark.  Another Keefe dunk put the Cubs up seven with 1:40 to go. After a 5-0 Eagles run, the Cubs led by two, 58-56, with 1:10 remaining. Jones made a layup to put the Cubs up four with 59 seconds left. The deficit was brought back to two with two made free throws by the Eagles with 49 seconds left.  The Cubs called timeout shortly after. The Eagles called timeout with 42 seconds remaining in the game. A two-pointer by the Eagles tied the game at 60 with 30 seconds left. The Cubs held for the last shot, and Keefe was fouled at the six-second mark while going for a putback layup. He made one of two free throws.  The Eagles missed the last shot, and the Cubs emerged victorious.

FINAL: Loyola 61, Chaminade 60.

Cub of the Game

The Cub of the Game was James Keefe.

The Next Game

The Cubs face Harvard-Westlake in the second game of the Mission League Tournament tomorrow at 8pm.