RAMBLERS KEEP DONS DOWN IN WIN
As always, it came down to making stops for Loyola. The No. 24 Ramblers slowed down the tempo and Notre Dame’s high-flying offense enough on Friday night to grind out a 34-31 win before a standing-room-only crowd in Wilmette.
No. 11 Notre Dame (7-2) came in averaging 66 points per game and had a previous season low of 48. But the Dons were held to three points in the final 10:01 of the first half and never led after the first 10 minutes of the game.
“We just wanted to stop their big three,” Loyola’s Jordan Kwiecinski said, referring to Troy D’Amico, Louis Lesmond and Jason Bergstrom. “Run them off the three-point line and then help with the other two guys.”
Jordan Kwiecinski was primarily assigned to Lesmond and his brother Bennett shadowed D’Amico.
It was an effective strategy. D’Amico, whose offers include Saint Louis and Southern Illinois, did score a game-high 13 points, but missed two three-pointers in the closing seconds. Lesmond, whose offers include Illinois, Nebraska and Oklahoma, scored four points and Bergstrom had three.
“I’m so proud of them,” Loyola’s Matt Enghauser said. “They are just stoppers. They’re playing really well in both ends. It 100 percent gives us energy.”
“We did a good job on their best three,” Loyola coach Tom Livatino said. “That’s a full-time task. Those guys are really good. Credit to our guys and their motor and their understanding of how we were going to guard them and how we were going to help.”
This was nothing new for the Ramblers, who have made it their brand to play lowscoring, physical games.
“We have really smart kids,” Livatino said. “And over time they’ve bought into ‘we do hard,’ the mantra of our program. We’re going to continue to work and work and work.”
Notre Dame took an 8-5 lead on D’Amico’s jumper from the right baseline with 2:01 left in the first quarter, but then Loyola really locked down on defense. Lesmond’s threepoint play at 5:27 of the second quarter accounted for the Dons’ only other scoring before halftime.
Meanwhile, Loyola (8-0) was slowly extending its lead, going up 18-11 at halftime and 24-16 midway through the third quarter. Notre Dame finally caught up at 30-all on D’Amico’s drive at 3:07 of the fourth.
But Enghauser went 4-for-4 from the freethrow line in the final 1:38 to seal the win.
Bennett Kwiecinski had eight points and five rebounds for Loyola, while Jordan Kwiecinski had seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Enghauaser had seven points.
“It’s a little bit like our football program,” Livatino said. “Defense wins first.
“We do have a good offensive team this year and we can do some good stuff. But that’s the pillar of the program.” ✶