St. Louis – The Missouri Valley Conference ticket has been punched. Loyola Chicago is going to the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Ramblers took down the Drake Bulldogs by a score of 64-58. 

It was high energy from both sides all game long. The Ramblers came into the game without comfortably securing an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Drake believed they had to win if they wanted to be in.

The Bulldogs started out with relentless defense, getting five blocks in the first four minutes of the game. Neither team has a ton of inside scoring prowess already, and every time each team went inside the paint, there was always a contest.

Tucker DeVries, freshman, was the story early for Drake. His strong shooting performance in the first half powered the Bulldogs to a strong first 20 minutes. However Loyola came rambling back with intense defense, and a fast paced offensive attack. They went on a 19-0 run in the later portion of the first half. 

After getting punched hard, Drake was able to weather the storm and at halftime, they were only down by two. A 27-25 Loyola lead.

The second half was much of the same story. Neither team wanted to give an inch defensively and when the shots did go in, it felt huge. It became very apparent early in the second half that this was a boxing match. Both squads played punch-counterpunch throughout the final 20.

Whistles became a factor as well in the second half, with 16 combined fouls in the second half after only 12 minutes of game time. Drake shot in the double bonus for the final eight minutes of the game. 

Loyola Chicago started to pull away around the eight minute mark in the second half. As the Bulldogs started missing shots, the Ramblers capitalized. They continually extended their lead and at the under-4 media timeout, they led 55-48.

Drake wasn’t ready to give up however, they were able to make it a two point game with under two minutes left to go. But Loyola has been here before, they know how to play in the clutch. The Ramblers won the game at the free throw line and were able to hang on for a 64-58 victory over the Bulldogs.

Loyola now looks forward to their next tournament, the NCAA tournament. Head Coach Drew Valentine gets it done in year one and the Ramblers will be a dangerous team come March.