BALTIMORE –
Golden Dike tipped a College of the Holy Cross pass at the top of the perimeter, collected a steal and went all the way for a fast-break dunk with 1:51 left in regulation, electrifying the Loyola University Maryland crowd and helping the Greyhounds pull away for a 73-69 win in the Patriot League Championships First Round in Reitz Arena.
Seventy seconds later, Dike made two free throws to put Loyola in front by six, pushing him over the double-double mark for the third time this year. He finished with 11 points and matched his season-high with 16 rebounds.
Deon Perry scored 16 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and made two free throws with eight ticks on the clock to provide the final margin.
Loyola advances to face top-seeded Colgate University on Thursday, March 2, in a 7 p.m. game in Hamilton, New York.
The Greyhounds built a 30-14 lead on a
Jaylin Andrews turnaround jumper with 4:44 to play in the first half, and the advantage was 35-22 at halftime, but the Crusaders chipped into their deficit early in the second half. Bo Montgomery scored off a Loyola turnover at 15:17, and Loyola's lead was down to 38-37.
Gerrale Gates then made two free throws at 14:01, tying the game at 41-41, but Perry took over the scoring load for the next several trips down the court.
He made a three at 13:40 and then converted a traditional 3-point play less than 20 seconds later. He made another three at 11:59, this one coming as he was fouled. After the media timeout, he made the free throw to make it 10-straight points he scored for Loyola as it opened up a 51-42 lead.
Holy Cross got the lead down to two twice with under four minutes to play, the second time coming when Caleb Kenney scored in the paint at 2:18.
Loyola had a turnover on its next possession, but Dike poked a pass out of the hands of a Holy Cross player, got the steal and went all the way for a dunk.
Holy Cross misfired on its next two trips down the court, and on the second, Dike was fouled on a rebounding attempt. He made both foul shots to stretch the lead to six.
That started a stretch where the Greyhounds made their last eight free throws with
Kenneth Jones,
Chris Kuzemka and Perry also converting.
After Kuzemka's two, Montgomery made a desperation three from the left corner with 10 seconds left, making it a 71-69 Loyola advantage, but Perry caught the inbound pass and was fouled, making both shots at the charity stripe to seal the win.
Andrews added 15 points for the Greyhounds, while Jones had seven,
David Brown III six and Kuzemka five.
Alonso Faure battled foul trouble and had four points with 10 rebounds in only 15 minutes.
Will Batchelder led Holy Cross with 18 points, and Montgomoery scored 17.
