BALTIMORE –
Braeden Speed grabbed an offensive rebound and scored in the paint with 3.1 seconds left on Saturday evening to lift the Loyola University Maryland men's basketball team to a 75-74 victory over visiting Navy in a Patriot League game from Reitz Arena.
Navy (5-12 overall, 2-2 Patriot League) regained the lead with 12 seconds to play on two Austin Benigni free throws, and Loyola (7-8, 2-2) had the last full possession of the night.
Jacob Theodosiou drove the left side of the lane and slipped a pass to
Milos Ilic in the middle. Ilic's shot was too strong, but it bounced off the back of the iron to a crashing Speed who laid it in and pushed Loyola up a point.
Navy called a timeout, and Benigni's halfcourt heave was wide left.
Theodosiou and Velko Ilic both has caerer-highs in the scoring column on Saturday. Theodosiou recorded his third game this season with 20 or more points, going for a career-high 27 thanks in part to a career-best six 3-pointers made. He was also 7 of 8 from the free throw line to help secure the win.
Ilic played a season-best 26 minutes and responded with 18 points, making 7 of 9 shots from the field while also grabbing eight rebounds and coming up with a pair of steals.
Loyola trailed by as many 12 in the first half, going down 35-23 on two Mike Woods free throws with 3:46 left in the half.
The Greyhounds, however, scored the last 11 points of the half with six coming on a pair of Theodosiou 3-pointers and another three out of the hands of
Jordan Stiemke with 40 ticks to go in the stanza.
Navy built a six-point lead, 56-50, with 10:55 left in regulation, but Loyola reeled off nine-straight points to take the lead for the first time since the game's first two minutes.
After two Theodosiou free throws,
Samuel Gibbs knocked down a three from the left side to make it a one-point Loyola game. Gibbs then grabbed a long rebound on the defensive end and started a fast break that finished with his outlet to
Veljko Ilic leading to a layup at 9:29.
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Veljko Ilic tip-in with 4:28 on the clock gave Loyola a 67-64 lead, but Navy nabbed the advantage on two Benigni free throws at 2:46.
The lead changed hands five times between those foul shots and two from Theodosiou with 28 ticks left that put Loyola in front 73-72.
Coming out of that possession, Benigni drove the left side of the lane and appeared to lose his footing, but Loyola was whistled for a foul, and he went to the line where he made both shots to set up the final sequence.
Benigni led Navy with 19 points, while Aidan Kehoe had 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Speed's final basket gave him nine points. Gibbs and Miloc Ilic both had six, while Gibbs also had a career-high five rebounds in a career-high 18 minutes of action.
Loyola will continue its two game homestand with a quick turnaround. The Greyhounds host American on Monday, January 13, at 7 p.m. in Reitz Arena in a game that will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network.
