How Loyola woke up to down La Salle and earn a share of the Atlantic-10 regular season title

Drew Valentine's full press conference after Loyola clinched a share of the Atlantic-10 title

The only people who believed Loyola could do it were the ones already in the locker room. One calendar year later, the Ramblers went from worst to first. Here's what LU coach Drew Valentine said after Loyola downed La Salle to win a share of the Atlantic-10 title.

CHICAGO, Ill. - There won't be an outright regular season conference championship in Loyola's cabinet this offseason, but Saturday was as perfect as could be for the Ramblers.

Behind a sold out crowd, Loyola downed La Salle 64-54 to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic-10 Tournament in Brooklyn next week and clinch a share of the Atlantic-10 regular season championship.

On senior day, Loyola leaned on Dame Adelekun and Braden Norris. The two helped push the Ramblers to a halftime lead.

That lead came after a precarious start where Loyola struggled to find a basket.

Still, the most dependable part of this Ramblers team was on full display for 40 minutes. Loyola's defense forced turnovers, recorded steals and protected the basket at a high level.

There wasn't much La Salle could do, and by the time it figured out a way to dent Loyola's defense it was much too late.

La Salle shot 54 percent from the floor in the first half, but only attempted 22 shots. Loyola's defense forced turnovers and grabbed steals which limited La Salle's field goal attempts.

In the second half, La Salle shot just 30 percent from the floor. Loyola was also playing clean for the majority of the game. La Salle only shot two free throw attempts in the first 17 minutes of the game.

Here's how Loyola won on Saturday.

Why Loyola won

The Ramblers woke up.

On a Saturday afternoon where emotions ran high honoring two seniors that keyed a turnaround from the 2022-2023 season to present day, Loyola started 4-14 from the floor.

It was a dismal offensive showing through the first 14 minutes of the game where Loyola struggled to finish at the rim and had no rhythm on its perimeter shooting.

That changed with about six minute to play in the first half.

Trailing 17-11, Loyola went on an 11-0 run to take a 21-17 lead. Norris' shooting from the perimeter and Adelekun's post presence helped push that lead to 37-28 at halftime.

Adelekun struggled from the floor to start the game but eventually he got his shots to fall.

From there, it was simply a matter of doing what Loyola does best: play defense. The Ramblers never gave La Salle a chance to go on a run.

It was over when…

Loyola weathered a late La Salle surge in the final two minutes. La Salle got open looks but couldn't cut the Ramblers lead.

Adelekun grabbed his 10th rebound with just over a minute left in the game to record a double double. That allowed Loyola to run the clock to 45 seconds left.

A La Salle basket cut the lead to nine, but Loyola's Jalen Quinn was fouled with 37.7 remaining and hit two free throws to put Loyola back up double digits. That was it.

Who starred

Adelekun's offense is a matter of "if" and not "when." The graduate student started 1 for 3 from the floor but put together a standout game.

He finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, as he powered the Loyola offense out of a frigid start.

Having a player who can affect a game like Adelekun coming off the bench is a luxury most high-major teams don't have.

Adelekun's counterpart in the post, freshman center Miles Rubin, was a force blocking shots. He blocked three shots in 1:24 of game time in the second half, preserving Loyola's lead.

What it means

The Ramblers will head into the Atlantic-10 Conference Tournament with priority seeding.

This means Loyola not only gets to play a lower seed, it also means the Ramblers get a break.

As the No. 2 overall seed, Loyola will next play on Thursday, March 14 giving the Ramblers a guaranteed spot in the tournament quarterfinals. It'll give Loyola a chance to rest, going nearly a full week without playing a game.