Fort Myers Tip-Off: Loyola, Boston College face off in championship
Last season's March Madness Cinderella and Final Four participant will face off against one of college basketball's most dynamic scorers.
The Loyola Ramblers play the Boston College Eagles in the championship of the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday at Suncoast Credit Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern in Fort Myers.
Loyola (4-1) won the first game Monday night in the inaugural tournament, 82-66, behind Lucas Williamson’s career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting against Richmond (2-2). In the second game, guard Ky Bowman's 38 points led Boston College (3-1) to an 88-76 win against Wyoming (1-4).
The third-place game between Richmond and Wyoming will start at 5 p.m. and the championship will start at 7:30 p.m. Both games will air on FS1.
In the opener, the Spiders challenged early with a three-point halftime lead, but the Ramblers forced 11 turnovers and scored 49 points in the second half to take a commanding lead.
With only a five-point lead and star Clayton Custer on the bench early in the second half, Loyola's Williamson and Marques Townes went to work helping the Ramblers jump ahead by 14 points.
“It’s one thing to talk about something at halftime, but the credit goes to the players for coming out of halftime and believing in it,” Loyola coach Porter Moser said. “Their mindset was really good in understanding that it’s a 20-minute game and there is no reason to panic. That comes from veterans like Marques (Townes) and Clayton (Custer) ... Lucas has played a lot of minutes too, and I think their mindset was as key as anything.”
Boston College went down 20-17 in the first half but Bowman helped the Eagles go on a 16-0 run against Wyoming. Bowman scored 14 of the 16 points to take a 33-20 lead with eight minutes left in the first half.
Wyoming made a push halfway through the second half, cutting the deficit to five, but the Eagles held them off for the 12-point victory.
The similarities in the season averages between the Ramblers and Eagles are strong. Both teams average 72 points and 39 rebounds per game.
But the Ramblers rely heavily upon their defense to get the job done. Richmond scored more than any other team Loyola’s faced this year, while Boston College hasn’t been held to less than 69 points in a contest.
Loyola should have its hands full with Bowman, a preseason All-ACC first-teamer. He shot 14-of-22 from the floor, made 7-of-12 3-pointers, and added seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“Big players step up in big games,” Wyoming coach Allen Edwards said. “He (stepped up) and he did it with swag. I think the highest compliment a coach can give an opposing player is to say ‘I’d like him on my team,’ and I’d like him on my team. For his talent level, he did what he was supposed to do.”
Loyola, which received two votes in the AP Top 25 this week, needs better shooting from the charity stripe on Wednesday. A team that normally hits about 60 percent of its free throws, shot an abysmal 48 percent, making 12 of 25.
Loyola's Townes and Custer finished with 15 and 13, respectively. Freshman Isaiah Bujdoso added 11 for the Ramblers.
Boston College's Johncarlos Reyes scored 15, and Steffon Mitchell tallied his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Fort Myers Tip-Off
Where: Suncoast Arena, on campus of Florida SouthWestern State College
Schedule: Wyoming vs. Richmond, 5 p.m.; Boston College vs. Loyola, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $20-$75, at Suncoast box office or www.fortmyerstipoff.com
TV: FS1