Wagner, Michigan claw past Loyola
NCAA title since 1989 Monday night at Alamodome.
Lovable Loyola (32-6), with superfan Sister Jean courtside and their fans behind the bench standing for pretty much the entire game, could not conjure another upset. The Ramblers were the fourth 11th-seeded team to make it this far and like the previous three, the semifinalswere the end of the road.
Coach Porter Moser said he was proud of players Ben Richardson, Aundre Jackson and Donte Ingram for holding it together during a postgame news conference, answering questions with red eyes and long faces.
“It was as tough a locker room as I’ve seen,” Moser said. “They believed that they belong. They believed, they wanted to advance.”
Loyola had no answers for the 6-foot-11 Wagner and its offense, so smooth and efficient on the way to San Antonio, broke down in the second half and finished with 17 turnovers.
Wagner, playing in front of his parents who made the trip from Germany, scored 24 points, had 15 rebounds and was 10 for 16 from the field. Matthews, the Kentucky transfer and Chicago native, added 17 points, including a run-out dunk with 1:33 left that made it 63-53. And that was that. “I just tried to go in the game, take what the opponent is giving me, what the game is giving me, stay emotionally solid and don’t get emotionally drunk, and it worked out today,” said Wagner, who became the third player in the past 40 years with a 20 and 15 game in the Final Four, joining Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston in 1983 (then known as Akeem) and Larry Bird of IndianaState in 1979.
As the seconds ticked off, Wagner pumped his fist to the many Michigan fans who made the trek to San Antonio and Loyola’s Jackson, who got the Ramblers rolling with a late game-winning 3 in the first round against Miami, looked toward the roof and shookhis head.
Cameron Krutwig, Loyola’s big man, scored 17 points and Clayton Custer had 13 of his 15 after halftime. But facing one of the best defensive teams in the country, the Ramblers scored just 16 pointsin the final 14 minutes.