The Loyola University Maryland men’s basketball squad kicked off the 2013-14 campaign with a dominant 92-59 victory over Division II Shippensburg University in an exhibition game on Halloween night at Reitz Arena.

The Greyhounds overcame a slow, turnover-filled start to pull away from the Raiders in the second half behind a terrific performance from senior guard Dylon Cormier, who finished the exhibition with 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals, notching a double-double.

The Hounds also had a strong showing from sophomore guard Eric Laster, who tallied 13 points (6-9 FG) and five rebounds. Laster caught the tipoff and drove in for the layup in the game’s opening seconds to start the scoring.

Although the Greyhounds were able to provide constant offensive pressure, fouls and turnovers haunted them early on, and the Raiders were able to hold their own throughout most of the first half. Shippensburg guard Oliver Stroh drained a trio of three-pointers in the first half alone, keeping the Raiders in the game. Stroh would finish the contest with 17 points.

With the game tied 7-7, junior guard R.J. Williams came up big, converting a three-point play after being fouled on a jumper with 16:34 left in the first half. Williams would finish the game with nine points and four steals. He was a defensive pest, and gave the Raiders fits all night long.

The Raiders continued to fight back, though, and a Stroh three-pointer with 12:01 left in the first half put Shippensburg ahead, 18-17, but it would be the last time the Raiders would hold a lead. A jump shot by senior forward Jordan Latham put Loyola back on top, 19-18, and the Hounds didn’t surrender the lead for the remainder of the night. Latham finished with six points and four boards, and led the Greyhounds with four blocks.

With 11:20 remaining in the first half, Williams found Cormier under the hoop, and Cormier missed the layup, but was able to grab his own rebound and put it back in to give Loyola a 21-18 lead.

The momentum really began to shift over to the Greyhounds after another Williams steal with 7:54 left in the half. Williams missed the layup, but Laster was there to snatch the rebound and lay it up to extend Loyola’s lead to seven.

Although Shippensburg continued to stay close, Loyola made a statement to conclude the first half, when Williams again found Cormier, who drove into the paint for the layup with five seconds left, giving the Greyhounds a 44-36 halftime lead. Cormier had 21 of his 27 points in the first half alone, playing 18 minutes in the entire opening half.

The Hounds came out in the second half with much more life and energy on defense. Just 30 seconds into the half, Williams continued to haunt the Raiders with yet another steal, followed by a layup. On the very next possession, Cormier followed suit, stealing the ball and dribbling across the court for the layup.

The limited number of fans that were able to attend the game on Halloween night erupted when sophomore guard Jarred Jones stole the ball from Shippensburg’s Tony Ellis and dribbled to the other side of the court for the dunk, giving the Hounds a commanding 56-40 advantage with 15:56 left to play. Jones had a tremendous game coming off the bench, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

After going 0-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, the Hounds were finally able to get their three-point shots to go in during the second half. Williams, redshirt junior Denzel Brito, redshirt sophomore Tyler Hubbard, redshirt freshman Damion Rashford, and freshman Nick Gorski each banked three-pointers in the second half, to complete the blowout victory.

Loyola got plenty of help from their new pieces in the win. Gorski, a true freshman, finished with five points and three boards, while Rashford, a redshirt freshman, finished with five points, two rebounds and two assists.

“In the first half, we just started off a little slow,” first-year head coach G.G. Smith said after the game. “We made a bunch of unforced turnovers. We just had to wake up, and in the second half, we did a great job on our press. We took care of the ball a little better in the second half; we had 25 turnovers, which is a little too much for us. I’m really impressed with Damion Rashford and Eric Laster. They give us the depth that we need at the three-spot.”

The Greyhounds open the regular season on Friday, November 8 on the road against Binghamton. Game time is slated for 8 p.m.