 "Photo: Grant Myatt")
DePaul coach Oliver Purnell found little wrong with the Blue Demons' efforts in a dominating first half on Wednesday night.
The second half? Purnell has seen better as DePaul survived a second-half Loyola surge to claim a 69-58 non-conference victory in a dedication game at the Ramblers' revamped Gentile Arena.
"I'm really pleased with the way our kids responded in this atmosphere because we could have easily been intimidated," Purnell said. "It was one of the best halves I've seen a team play defensively. Obviously I wasn't nearly as pleased with the second half."
DePaul (5-3) led 47-17 at halftime and extended the advantage to 33 points early in the second half. Loyola (1-7) then launched a comeback with a 17-0 run, sparked by six points from forward Walt Gibler, who scored 21 of his career-high 29 points after halftime.
The Ramblers (1-7) crept to within 12 points four times in the last 5:53 and within single digits in the final minute. But DePaul kept Loyola at bay by hitting 7 of 8 free throws in a two-minute stretch. And center Krys Faber followed with two straight buckets, the last with 2:10 to play to give the Blue Demons a 66-52 edge.
Moses Morgan scored 13 points, Faber had 12 and Jamee Crockett and Jeremiah Kelly had 11 apiece as the Blue Demons ran their series winning streak to 11 over the Ramblers. Guard Joe Crisman added 14 points for Loyola and Ben Averkamp grabbed 11 rebounds.
DePaul never trailed and opened a double-digit lead after five minutes on Morgan's layup. Cleveland Melvin's rebound basket at 8:52 mark pushed the advantage past 20 and Kelly's 3 pointer 14 seconds later made it 34-11.
The Blue Demons turned six early Rambler turnovers into 12 points and outscored the hosts 18-4 in the paint. DePaul also outscored Loyola 18-4 in the paint in the first 12:06.
"Our transition defense was horrific in the first half," Loyola coach Porter Moser said. "We didn't do our job on a number of fronts and DePaul made us pay.
"I'm proud of our guys that they didn't quit, but we just came out with poor focus."
Wednesday's game was only the second in Loyola's rebuilt Gentile Arena, which reopened last month on the far North Side campus. What had been a gymnasium-style facility was turned into an arena with chair-back seating in a lower bowl, plus state-of-the-art video boards.
The school held a small pre-game dedication ceremony and a raised a new banner at halftime saluting Loyola's 1963 NCAA Division I basketball champions.
The Ramblers remain Illinois' only program with a national title, but they haven't beaten the Blue Demons since winning 70-69 on Jan, 21, 1989 at the old International Amphitheatre on Chicago's South Side.
DePaul beat Loyola 81-74 last year at Allstate Arena despite Geoff McCammon's career-high 31 points for the Ramblers.
Both teams resume play on Saturday. Loyola is at Toledo while DePaul hosts Chicago State.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!