February 18, 2009
Loyola 71, No. 15 Butler 67
Loyola pulls off upset of No. 15 Butler
Loyola's Jordan Hicks celebrates with Walt Gibler after a 71-67 win over Butler. (AP / February 15, 2009)
INDIANAPOLIS - The climax of " Hoosiers" was filmed at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse more than 20 years ago. The Loyola Ramblers rewrote that script for themselves Sunday.
Reeling from a six-game losing streak, Loyola produced a shocking 71-67 upset of 15th-ranked Butler, the same victim of the Ramblers' last win over a ranked team.
"We came in here being the only ones believing we could win," said freshman forward Jordan Hicks, who led Loyola with a career-best 23 points and eight rebounds. "We wanted to prove we could."
Loyola (13-15, 5-11 Horizon League) took a 3-2 lead on its first possession, fittingly on a three-pointer by Hicks, and never trailed again. The Ramblers led by as many as 18 in the first half and by 14 at halftime, then fought off a furious Butler effort in the final two minutes.
The lead dropped to two points with 30 seconds left. But freshman center John Benkoske blocked a potential tying layup, and guard Justin Cerasoli dropped in two free throws with 4.2 seconds left to seal the issue.
"Everything I love about college basketball happened," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "It just didn't happen on our side. Loyola played terrific basketball, made huge shots, made huge stops on the road, and they answered every call."
Loyola was nearly overtaken single-handedly as forward Matt Howard scored 21 of his game-high 30 points in the second half. But just as they did when they upset a ranked Butler team two years ago, the Ramblers refused to crumble.
"This was very, very similar to the one two years ago," said senior guard J.R. Blount, a member of the 2007 team and making his last trip to Hinkle.
"This was just a total team win too."
Butler (22-3, 13-2) missed its first seven free throws and seven of its first eight three-pointers. The Bulldogs then shot 50 percent from the field and 12-for-14 from the line in the second half and made late 8-0 and 5-0 runs, the kind that have often broken Loyola's spirit.
The idea of here-we-go-again "ran through our minds, but we avoided it and just went out and played," Hicks said.
"Today was all about the heart."
jmullin@tribune.com
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