On Nov. 3, Loyola men’s basketball played its season opener in downtown Baltimore at CFG Bank Arena against Towson, the first time Loyola has played in the arena since 1995. The late night contest was preceded by a game between Maryland and Coppin State, with the two games together making the Hall of Fame Series Baltimore Event.
After a tight, high physicality first half that consisted mostly of a Loyola lead, the second half was all Towson as the Tigers started knocking down shots from outside the arc, and the Greyhounds were not able to slow down paint scoring. The surge from Towson in the second half led to a final score of 67-56, a victory for the Tigers.
Loyola proved they could compete with Towson, a reigning conference champion, though, as the start of the game was a defensive match in favor of the Greyhounds. After a brief 5-0 start from Towson, two pairs of Loyola free throws and a three-pointer from guard Jordan Stiemke ’27 gave the Greyhounds a 7-5 lead that was kept until halftime.
A couple of shots from three-point range by forward Sam Springer ’28 pushed Loyola a bit further in their lead, with their largest lead reaching six points. Towson was always hanging in there, putting the ball in the post and going up with their own shots against Loyola’s zone defense.
After a couple of converted and-1 opportunities from Springer and guard Jacob Theodosiou ’27 with a few minutes left in the half, Towson grabbed several offensive rebounds and capitalized on second-chance points to erase Loyola’s lead. Halftime resulted in a tie of 28-28.
The first half was defined by each team’s grit and defense, as Towson played their game in the paint, where all of their field goals had been scored, while Loyola played slightly more spread out, with three threes on 13 attempts.
Loyola was shooting 28.7% from the field to Towson’s 36.7%, but Towson was zero for four on three-point attempts. Loyola was nine for ten from the free throw line while Towson was six for eight, Loyola having drawn nine fouls to Towson’s seven. Towson was crashing the glass with 23 rebounds to Loyola’s 17, which meant more second-chance opportunities for the Tigers.
The second half called for adjustments from both teams, but it was the changes for Towson that propelled them to a quick second-half lead.
Loyola Men’s Basketball Head Coach Josh Loeffler reflected on the team’s opener.
“It was a game of some runs, and I thought we did a really nice job of responding after Towson came out very well. I thought they did a nice job of responding to end the first half, and then they carried that over in the second half,” Loeffler said.
Towson was able to muster up an effective defense that prevented Loyola from getting hot as they created more highly contested shots and prevented offensive momentum from Loyola. The Greyhounds shot one for nine from the arc in the second half.
At the 12:52 mark in the second half, Towson forward Tyler Tejada knocked down the team’s first three-pointer, which ultimately started a flurry of shots for their offense as the Tigers held a 41-34 lead.
In the minutes following, Towson guard Dylan Williamson hit two contested threes in a row that pushed the lead into double digits, a 16-point lead at the seven-minute mark. Loyola was now having a harder time converting their shots than in the previous half.
“We went through a lull. It’s our job as coaches to figure out why that is, to put our guys in the great spots so that we can get out of that dry spell a little quicker next time,” Loeffler said.
Loyola knew the game was never fully out of reach, as they started full-court pressing with six minutes remaining and cutting the lead at a gradual pace. Although Loyola imposed significant defensive pressure here, the lead never reached single digits, and Towson, with their increased shot making, pushed past the Greyhounds in a hard-fought game from both teams, putting on a great show for the fans.
“I loved our fight at the end. I thought that we showed resilience and grit and really put ourselves in a position with about three and a half minutes left where it was going to be a feat to come back, but it wasn’t out of the question,” Loeffler said.
Final stats display the story of the game well, with Towson’s 12 offensive rebounds contributing to their 44 points in the paint; Loyola was outrebounded 29 to 40. The Greyhounds shot 34% from the field to Towson’s 43.9%. Loyola was fouled more and got to the line more because of that, shooting 72.5% from the line. Loyola only had one more turnover than Towson, but the Tigers had four more steals and assists than Loyola.
Theodosiou finished the night as Loyola’s leading scorer with 13 points, four rebounds, and a pair of steals. Springer and Braeden Speed ’28 each tallied nine points.
Shooting for Towson, Tejada had an impactful second half that led to 24 points on eight of 14. His teammate Williamson scored 14 points and logged five assists. Towson forward Jack Doumbia Jr. also scored 13 points off the bench and grabbed seven rebounds.
Loeffler gave credit to Towson head coach Pat Skerry for putting his players in certain spots to find them good, high-value shots and for executing well against Loyola’s zones. Skerry gave praise to Loeffler and to the challenges Loyola presented to his team throughout the game.
“Loyola changed their zones, which I think caught us off guard. We didn’t have [our players] ready for it, so that was some really good coaching by them, and then I thought in the second half, [we] got comfortable with some rhythm jump shots and getting in the paint, and then the court kind of opened up for us,” Skerry said.
Greyhounds men’s basketball still displayed positives in their performance, even with injuries to some players. Loeffler stated how, despite shooting four for 22 from three, Loyola was never fully taken out of this game, highlighting how the team did a lot of other things very well.
“I think a lot of times, shooting can cover up a multitude of sins in basketball… [We] need to be able to look at the way that we were able to score and play well without [these] shots falling with very young or new frontcourt players, build on it, and then enhance the shots that we’re getting from three and find a way to get more around the rim from our frontcourt,” Loeffler said.
Loeffler highlighted the uniqueness of the experience in playing in your first college basketball game, which was the case for a few Greyhounds. He keeps the same high expectations for these young players that he holds for the entire team.
“We expect them to play as well as they possibly can, but there is no substitute for going through your first college basketball game… There’s nothing like the stimulus that they just got right there. And you can’t simulate it, and for them to be able to come away from this and be able to watch the film and think about what they did, that’s monumental in terms of allowing them to grow,” Loeffler said.
With a hard-fought game under their belt, there is a lot to look forward to for Loyola men’s basketball, with a regular season that spans the next four months.
Be sure to stay tuned to all things Loyola basketball and support our teams, with both our men’s and women’s home openers on Thursday, Nov. 6, at Reitz Arena. Men’s basketball plays PSU Abington at 11:30 a.m., and women’s basketball plays La Salle at 7:00 p.m.
