November 30, 2004|By Jeff Seidel | Jeff Seidel,SPECIAL TO THE SUN
Former Maryland star Laron Profit was so impressed with the intensity of Loyola's play last night against Delaware that he made a surprise visit to tell the Greyhounds in the locker room after the game.
Profit, who now plays for the Washington Wizards, spoke to the Greyhounds for a few minutes to tell them that they played harder than the Blue Hens. Loyola loved the compliments but would rather have gotten a win as Delaware rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to pull out a 63-60 victory over the Greyhounds at Reitz Arena.
New Loyola coach Jimmy Patsos is repeatedly pounding home to his team the importance of playing hard all the time. The Greyhounds have lost 13 straight dating back to last season, but Patsos, a Maryland assistant when Profit played in College Park, liked the way his team has worked.
"We're young and we fought back," Patsos said. "But you've got to make plays at the end. You've got to make layups, and you've got to make free throws."
Loyola (0-4) didn't do that while Delaware (2-1) did just enough to hold on. Andrew Washington scored a game-high 26 points and teammate Mike Slattery got 15 of his 20 in the second half to help the Blue Hens take the lead for good with just over 10 minutes left and hang on.
The Greyhounds hurt themselves throughout the game -- especially in the second half -- with poor shooting from the field and at the free-throw line. Loyola made only eight of 27 from the field in the second half and just nine of 19 from the line.
Slattery sparked the key Delaware run, scoring 13 of the team's 15 points and helping the Blue Hens take a 51-45 lead with 6:20 left. The Greyhounds cut the lead to one once and two twice after that but never could tie.
"They played extremely hard from the beginning of the game," Slattery said. "They're a lot better than I thought they'd be."
The Greyhounds looked good at halftime, scoring the final seven points of the first half for a 35-27 lead at the break. Charlie Bell (16 points) hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to draw a standing ovation from the hometown crowd, but that seemed to awaken the Blue Hens.
Delaware stepped up its defensive pressure in the second half, and the Greyhounds promptly missed their first 10 shots from the field. Loyola didn't make a basket until Bernard Allen's layup with 10:47 left tied the game at 40.
Bell, Brad Farrell (12 points), Allen (nine points, six rebounds) and Shane James (eight points) helped the Greyhounds stay close. Loyola had a chance to tie on the final possession, but Bell's three-point attempt banged off the front rim at the buzzer -- just like what happened in last week's 86-83 loss to Navy.
"We want to let people know we're no joke this year," Bell said. "We really thought we played harder than Delaware."
DELAWARE--Nana 0-6 8-14 8, Smith 2-3 1-2 5, Madera 1-4 0-0 2, Slattery 8-11 3-6 20, A. Washington 9-21 8-13 26, Wentt 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 21-54 20-35 63. LOYOLA--Stanback 2-10 1-2 5, Nixon 2-5 1-4 5, Chivers 0-3 2-4 2, James 4-8 0-0 8, Farrell 4-9 3-5 12, Allen 3-7 3-5 9, Bell 5-13 5-9 16, Nijaradze 0-0 2-2 2, Alujevic 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 20-57 18-33 60. Halftime--Loyola 35-27. 3-point goals--Delaware 1-13 (Slattery 1-3, Nana 0-2, A. Washington 0-3, R. Washington 0-3, Flowers 0-2); Loyola 2-8 (Farrell 1-3, Bell 1-3, Stanback 0-1, Allen 0-1). Rebounds--Delaware 40 (Nana 14); Loyola 40 (Bell 9). Assists--Delaware 10 (Slattery 4); Loyola 6 (Bell 2). Total fouls--Delaware 24, Loyola 24. A--950.
