Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Loyola College Athletics Greg Manning stepped off the bench and forced OT with a late three.

Two games against third-place Niagara last week, a game against 11-3 Siena this week, and a game Monday night against first-place Rider. That's quite a stretch for the Loyola men's basketball team. As the old saying goes, "this'll separate the men from the boys."

The Greyhounds competed with the Purple Eagles in a pair of games that could have gone either way, but ultimately Niagara had the upper hand. It was a different story on Saturday afternoon in Albany, N.Y., as the resilient Hounds fought back late in the second half, forced overtime and took down then first-place Siena, 83-76, to move within a game of first place in the MAAC.

Talk about a different hero for the Greyhounds (15-12, 10-5 MAAC). Senior Greg Manning spent the first 39 minutes and 43 seconds seated on the bench before head coach Jimmy Patsos called his number at the game's most crucial juncture. Trailing 66-63, freshman Brian Rudolph drove the length of the court, but instead of going up with a shot, he kicked out to Manning, who drilled the game-tying three from the wing. Siena had one last chance to win it, but the clock ran out, forcing the game into overtime.

"I just wanted to get in and get a good look," Manning said. "With Brett [Harvey] and Marquis [Sullivan] out there, there were some three-point shooters out there and I just went to the corner and got a look and it went down for me."

Loyola had all the momentum in the extra period. Tuck started it with a jump shot, and Rudolph followed up with a layup and a three pointer to give Loyola a 73-66 lead. From there, Rudolph and sophomore Brett Harvey fittingly closed it out.

Rudolph, who had a career-high 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists, led Loyola with seven points in overtime. Harvey had a team-high 19 points, including a 3-for-7 performance from three and a perfect 6 of 6 from the line. The Greyhounds, who are top-10 in the nation in free-three shooting, knocked down 25 of 27 from the charity stripe.

Loyola pulled out the win despite Edwin Ubiles' 37-point effort. Ubiles made his presence felt from the start, shutting down senior Gerald Brown on defense while scoring at will on offense.

The Hounds started the game with an 8-0 run, spurred on by sophomore Brett Harvey's three, and then used a Michael Tuck three to go up 11-3 by the first media timeout. But Ubiles brought the Saints back to within one, 13-12, on a three-point play and a few inside jump shots. Siena then used an 8-0 run to take their first lead at 6:54 when Josh Duell hit a three.

Continued...

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