Bradley earns bragging rights by ending Loyola's season in NIT's first round

Loyola's Miles Rubin talks hometown connection, Ramblers' tourney chances

Loyola's Miles Rubin is living out his college basketball dreams and he's doing it right in his hometown.

PEORIA, Ill. - If the saying goes "it plays in Peoria," the "it" in this case was an old fashioned case of "remember me?"

Loyola basketball traveled to Peoria for the first round of the NIT, playing former Missouri Valley Conference rival Bradley. The Braves wasted little time re-introducing themselves to Loyola.

With well-timed runs and heart-snatching jumpers by Duke Deen, Bradley ended Loyola's season 72-64. The first-place team in the Atlantic-10 Conference's season ends at 23-10 overall.

Here's how the game played out.

Why Loyola lost

It was a dismal day at the offensive office. Loyola could not consistently make shots to cut into Bradley's lead in the first half.

The Ramblers did in the second half, cutting the Bradley lead to 10 with 11:20 left in the game. The Ramblers were within two at 54-52.

But, they couldn't get over the hump.

Bradley kept answering with runs and well-timed shots. It dug the Loyola hole deeper and deeper.

Why Bradley won

Bradley was on fire.

The Braves were playing with a chip on their shoulder from the get go. That was evident with a 10-0 lead to start the game, which ballooned into a 20-5 lead and turned in a 36-19 lead at halftime.

That became a 45-24 lead to start the second half.

Bradley was playing like it remembers March 4, 2022, the last time Loyola played the Braves where the Ramblers ended Bradley's season 66–50 in the quarterfinals of the MVC Tournament.

Like in the SEC where it just means more, that rang true in Peoria on Wednesday.

It was over when

With 1:11 left, the Braves led 67-60. Loyola had a slight chance to get back into the game.

A long, long lob to Darius Hannah put Bradley up nine with a minute to play. Another bucket kept Bradley up nine.

That started the "M-V-C" chants in Carver. Game over.

Who starred

Duke Deen stole the show for Bradley, knocking down jumpers from all angles and with as little balance as possible. He scored 18 to lead all scorers. Darius Hannah also had 17.

For Loyola, Miles Rubin kept the Ramblers from getting completely blown away. His defense was outstanding, a sign of how much he learned across his freshman season at Loyola. That led the way for Braden Norris to come in and lead all Ramblers with 17 points.