READY TO RAMBLE!
Loyola-Chicago beats Canes on last-second 3
DALLAS — Loyola calls the play “Attack,” fitting for the tenacious team that captured America’s imagination Thursday with a pulsating, buzzer-beating 64-62 victory over Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
When Miami guard Lonnie Walker IV missed a free throw with 9.3 sec- onds left at the American Airlines Center and Ramblers guard Ben Richardson came down with the rebound, players knew what to run because they practice such things. At Loyola, they rehearse success.
Had center Cameron Krutwig rebounded the ball, coach Porter Moser would have called a timeout, but a guard grabbing the board provided the cue to push the ball upcourt. So Richardson passed to guard Marques Townes, who quickly dribbled down the floor as teammate Donte Ingram yelled from behind, “Marques, Marques!”
“I heard him loud and clear,” Townes said. “They were all on me. I just gave it to Donte.”
The pass came with 2.5 seconds left to Ingram, who, naturally, stood just inside the blue March Madness logo about 30 feet from the basket. Ingram, who had missed 5 of 7 3-pointers to that point, never hesitated. He squared up and buried a beautiful left-handed jumper for one of the biggest shots in Dallas since the days of J.R. Ewing.
The buzzer went off. Bedlam ensued. Adrenaline carried Ingram toward the raucous Ramblers cheering section, where he looked for his parents, Don and Doretha. They had traveled from Chicago to see their son’s Bryce Drew moment, assuring him a spot in this year’s “One Shining Moment.”
A replay review showed Ingram’s shot went in with 0.3 seconds left, but it already had been etched indelibly into our collective NCAA memories as a gut-wrenching, heart-stopping game-winner.
“Any one of us could have hit that shot, but I was just fortunate enough to be in the position,” Ingram said. “I like to think I’ve got limitless range.”
Suddenly, the same word applies to Loyola’s potential, with Tennessee standing between the Ramblers and a Sweet 16 appearance. By the time Ingram showered, he was appearing on more highlight shows than Ernie Johnson and trending on Twitter, where former President Barack Obama congratulated the Ramblers and Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the team’s adorable 98-yearold chaplain. By the time Ingram is as old as Loyola legend Alfredrick Hughes, the 1985 star who watched from behind the bench in a gold shirt and matching 10-gallon hat, he will savor reliving his heroics at every reunion.