Courtesy of LoyolaGreyhounds.com
BALTIMORE – Dylon Cormier scored a game-high 21 points, and Loyola University Maryland used runs of 19-0 and 20-5 to win its season-opener, 71-45, over visiting Binghamton University on Friday night in a sold-out Reitz Arena.
“I thought we had an unbelievable boost from the atmosphere in (Reitz) tonight,” Head Coach Jimmy Patsos said. “You saw the Loyola community really come out and support the program tonight, and I thought it showed with our energy
“This Binghamton team is one that is going to be on the rise. Tommy Dempsey is going to continue to develop these guys, get his players in there, and they are going to be very good for a while. We are looking forward to playing these guys for a long time.”
The Bearcats (0-1 overall) scored on the opening possession, but the Greyhounds (1-0) reeled off 19 in a row, capped by a Cormier 3-pointer to go ahead 19-2 with 9:29 to go in the first half.
Loyola pushed the lead to 19 at two points late in the first half, but a Taylor Johnston jumper with under a second to go for Binghamton made it 39-22 at the break.
The teams traded baskets to open the second half before Jimmy Gray had a steal, fast-break layup and free throw at 17:25 to pull Binghamton within 14, 41-27.
Erik Etherly caught a Julius Brooks pass from the top of the perimeter on the ensuing possession and dunked it to spark a 20-5 run that would seal the game early for the Greyhounds.
Etherly had another thunderous dunk, driving the left baseline and throwing the ball down one-handed over a Bearcats player at 14:43, helping the run that put Loyola on top, 61-32, with 8:38 to play after a Robert Olson layup.
Olson and Etherly each had 11 for the Greyhounds, as did Tyler Hubbard in his collegiate debut.
Loyola pushed its lead to 30 on two occasions, once on a Cormier spinning jumper with 5:42 on the clock and the second on an Eric Laster 13-foot basket after a Chido Onyiuke offensive rebound and assist with 2:05 to play.
The Greyhounds shot 51.9-percent from the field and held Binghamton to 35.6-percent. Loyola also had a 35-21 advantage in rebounds, led by Brooks’ game-high seven. Brooks also had eight points, an assist and a steal off the bench.
Jordan Latham pulled down six boards and had six points, as well, and Jarred Jones had three board, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in his collegiate debut.
During the game, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference held its first-ever Preseason Awards Show live on ESPN3. The Greyhounds were picked to win the league by the conference’s coaches, garnering seven of 10 first-place votes and 97 points in the poll.
Etherly was named the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year.
Loyola is in action on Sunday evening when it plays at the University of Washington at 5 p.m. (Pacific)/8 p.m. (Eastern) in Seattle. The game will air live on the Pac-12 Networks. The Greyhounds return to Reitz on Wednesday night for a 9 o’clock tip-off against UMBC in a game that will be televised on MASN.
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