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MVC Basketball: Takeaways from Loyola-Chicago vs Drake showdowns

By Ben Andreatta

Drake junior guard Roman Penn drives to the hoop in the first half against Loyola on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, at the Knapp Center in Des Moines.20210213 Drakevsloyola
Drake junior guard Roman Penn drives to the hoop in the first half against Loyola on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, at the Knapp Center in Des Moines.20210213 Drakevsloyola /
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Loyola’s Aher Uguak (30) Mb Uevs Loyola 37
Loyola’s Aher Uguak (30) Mb Uevs Loyola 37 /

Takeaways from Saturday’s Game

Loyola 81 – Drake 54

A tightly contested first half between Loyola and Drake quickly turned into a route early on in the second half after a dominating performance from the Ramblers. Outscoring Drake 50 to 20 in the second half the Ramblers played one of their most dominant stretches of basketball this season behind Aher Uguak.

An all-around team performance highlighted the depth for this Ramblers squad, with eight guys averaging six or more points per game this season there’s no shortage of talent for Porter Moser to lean on. The Ramblers pride themselves on their defense as they held a Drake team averaging over 80 points per contest to just 54 points. The Loyola defense is the best in the country allowing just 56 points per game.

No ShanQuan Hemphill for Drake is a huge blow to a Bulldogs team that has suffered just their second loss of the season on Saturday, losing your leading scorer makes a difficult adjustment for any team but Roman Penn and DJ Wilkins both had off games. Penn finished the game just 2-13 from the floor and Wilkins, one of the nation’s top three-point shooters finished 0-3 from three and had just two points.  Drake’s 54 points were a season-low.

Defensively Drake weren’t great, especially in the second half, crashing the boards became a huge problem as Drake were outrebounded 29 to 20. Can’t be too hard on Drake with the loss of Hemphill, it was very clear how much he means to this team, but this type of dominant performance by Loyola is exactly what the Ramblers need to move closer toward getting an at large bid.