Boys Basketball: Mount Carmel Tops Loyola, 43-40

Basketball is a back and forth game. After 12 lead changes, Mount Carmel came away with an exciting 43-40 victory over visiting Loyola Blakefield Wednesday night, causing the Dons to drop their second MIAA A Conference matchup in as many games.

The Dons (4-3, 0-2 MIAA) had the ball in their own offensive zone looking to break a 39-39 tie in the last minute of the game. However, a Jordan Floyd pass banked off the foot of Mount Carmel's 6-foot-7 inch center Gedas Juozapavicius.  Juozapavicius picked up the ball and passed up court to Gabrielle Yuille, who was leading the fastbreak. Although Yuille missed the layup, Malachy Onwudiegwu was there to get the rebound and record the easy two points to give the Cougars the 41-39 lead with 27.4 seconds left in the game.

With the chance to tie the game, Dan Vigus was sent to the line after he was fouled by Yuille. Vigus made the first shot. However, he missed the second and Juozapavicius was there for the rebound and he was fouled.

On the ensuing inbound play, Corey Grooms fielded the pass and was quickly fouled by Floyd. Groom, who was just 2-6 from the line, connected on both of his foul shots giving the home team the 3-point lead with 10.1 seconds left. Grooms led all scorers with 13 points.

Although senior guard Dave Marsh got an open look from beyond the arch, he could not connect to tie the game.

After suffering a 66-31 loss to John Caroll on Tuesday, a game that Loyola head coach Josh Davalli calls the Dons' worse defensive performance of the year, Davalli was pleased with his defense only allowing 43 Cougar points.

"I thought we played great defensively, a lot of activity on the defensive end, guys were helping each other out," Davalli said. "It was probably one of our better defensive games."

Being an undersized team, Davalli preaches the importance of boxing out and fighting for all the rebounds and loose balls. Junior forward Taylor Janoskie scored a team-high 8 points, most of which came from him fighting for offensive rebounds and recording easy lay-ups.

"[Janoskie] played great, he stepped in and did everything for us," Davalli said. "He had a bunch of rebounds and contributed some points. He really fought down there; he just played with a lot of heart and a lot of determination."

After allowing 66 points to John Carroll, the Dons only allowed the Cougars to score 22 points in the first half and 21 in the second a feat that Janoskie said excites him.

"The main difference was boxing out and getting rebounds," Janoskie said. "If we can do that every night, we are going to be a really good basketball team."

Although the Dons' offense was more patient and took more high percentage shots than they did against John Carroll, they turned the ball over 21 times. Davalli points to the high amount of turnovers as the downfall of the game.

"We were more patient offensively but still too many turnovers," Davalli said. "I think we shot 40 percent and they shot 31. Looking at that, that is a game we should win but if we turn it over 21 times we are putting ourselves in hole, that's for sure."

Loyola finished its three game road stretch with a 1-2 record and will come home Mount St. Joseph's in another MIAA A Conference matchup.