Loyola Greyhound

Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Jesse DeFlorio Gerald Brown, the team leader and the face of the Greyhounds, finishes his two-year Loyola career with 1,221 points.

Media Credit: Jesse DeFlorio Michael Tuck's four-year career at Loyola ended in the MAAC semifinals.

By Joe Delgobbo
Columnist

Albany, N.Y. -- The greatest event in sports is upon us.

March Madness is here and the NCAA tournament officially tips off tonight with the play-in game. For the next few days, countless hours and dollars will be spent riding on the talents and aspirations of teenagers and young adults playing a relatively simple game.

Loyola could've been there, right next to three other tourney-bound Baltimore schools: UMBC, Coppin State and Mount St. Mary's. The Hounds were one of the favorites this season to represent the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in the Big Dance and join in on the festivities.

Alas, the Greyhounds came up short once again, failing to reach the conference title game, losing in the semifinals to the eventual champion, Siena.

The Greyhounds arrived at the Times Union Center as the No. 4 seed in the MAAC Tournament, despite owning an impressive conference record of 12-6, the same as the previous season. They were set to play the Fairfield Stags in the quarterfinals, a rematch of last year's game where Loyola was victorious, 76-72.

A small but rowdy crowd of about 15 students stood behind the basket cheering on the team throughout the quarterfinal contest. Senior Michael Tuck drilled a three-pointer from the corner to break an early 5-5 tie. With 13:42 remaining in the opening period, senior Gerald Brown drove to the basket, converted a bucket and drew a foul. Brown's free throw gave the Hounds a three-point advantage, a lead the Greyhounds would never relinquish. With just 23 ticks left in the half, a three-pointer by Marquis Sullivan gave Loyola a 34-21 lead at intermission.

The Hounds extended their lead early in the second period as Brown connected on two free-throws to give Loyola a 44-26 lead. A 17-0 Greyhounds run allowed the team to build a big lead, but the Stags responded with an 11-0 spurt, cutting the lead to single digits. From there it was a tough battle until the end. Nevertheless, the Greyhound maintained their lead and won the game 64-59.

As the final seconds winded down, head coach Jimmy Patsos embraced Sullivan with an emphatic hug as the team celebrated another victory over the Stags.

"Any time we play Fairfield, it's a great game and today was no different," Patsos said. "We were lucky to gut it out. I'm really proud of our Loyola fans who came out today."

Gerald Brown led all scorers with 18 points off 6-of-11 shooting. Sophomore guard Brett Harvey added 16 points, while Tuck finished with 14 and grabbed eight rebounds.

With the win over Fairfield, Loyola's next challenge was the No. 1 seed and host of the tournament, the Siena Saints.

Although the Hounds swept the Saints during the regular season, Siena was heavily favored during the semifinal game on their home court. While most of the Loyola faithful were already back at Evergreen in preparation for classes the next morning, the stands at the Union Center were packed, with the overwhelming majority rooting for the home team.

As the starting lineups were introduced, there were five Greyhound fans in the student section located directly behind the hoop. Right before tip-off another five students arrived as reinforcements.

Loyola raced out of the gate, building an early double-digit lead as they had against the Stags. But much like the quarterfinals game, the 17-point cushion would not last long. The Saints began to apply a press, forcing numerous turnovers and converting them into easy baskets. Loyola, however, led at intermission 38-28.

The Hounds led throughout the second half until the 1:13 mark when Siena forward Alex Franklin tipped in a missed shot to tie the game at 63. With just under a minute to play, an open three-pointer from the corner by Brown rattled out and the Saints corralled the rebound. With 20 seconds remaining, Siena took a two-point lead off a twisting layup from Josh Duell. Duell was fouled on the play but failed to convert from the charity stripe, leaving the Hounds with a chance to tie or win the game. Patsos called a timeout and drew up a play.

The Hounds were going for the win.

Sullivan received the ball in the corner beyond the arc, pump faked in an attempt to draw a foul, and put up a one-handed prayer for the win with just 10 ticks on the clock. The shot went halfway in before spinning out. Loyola was forced to foul.

But the Hounds were given another chance as Franklin missed both shots from the free-throw line. Freshman point guard Brian Rudolph drove hard to the basket in an attempt to tie the game, but his shot was blocked and the ball went out of bounds behind the basket with less than two seconds to play. With no timeouts remaining, the Hounds inbounded the ball to Omari Isreal, but the lob pass was too high and the last-second shot never occurred. Final: 65-63, Siena.

"It was a great game in a great atmosphere. We just didn't make enough shots," Patsos said after the game. "I wish we could have gotten a couple of shots to go down. If we make some of those shots, we win the game."

Loyola came up just short in the most heart-breaking loss of the season. Once again we'll have to make our tournament picks and enjoy the madness of March without our team involved.

Although expectations were high in the beginning of the season, it wasn't an entirely wasted year. The team fought hard, struggling through many ups and downs. At first, the season looked to be headed towards disaster, but the Greyhounds turned it around and finished just one game short of a first-place finish.

So even though we won't be cheering for our Hounds for another eight months, we should thank our seniors who dedicated their college careers to the program. Good luck to you all: Gerald Brown, Michael Tuck, Omari Isreal, Hasan Fofana and Greg "Super" Manning.

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