2015 CBI: Loyola Ramblers overcome cold start to drop Seattle Redhawks, reach finals

Isiah Umipig went cold.

The senior Seattle shooter hit 41.1 percent of his shots during the season, and was even better from deep (42.5%) where his 6-1 size wasn't a factor. But that wasn't the case Wendesday night against Loyola.

Umipig struggled to find a spot where he could shoot and shot just 2-12 from the floor as the Redhawks were bounced from the CBI Tournament by the Loyola Ramblers, 63-48. Loyola will move on to the three-game finals against the ULM Warhawks, beginning Mar. 30.

The cold shooting wasn't limited to Umipig though. Both sides couldn't seem to find their way and it seemed we were headed towards some ridiculously low scoring totals. And this came from two teams that were not known for their defenses during the regular season.

Loyola shot just 33 percent from the floor as Seattle switched between 2-3 and 3-2 zones to keep the Ramblers out of the interior during the first half. The Ramblers were used to getting almost 35 percent of their shots at the rum, but against that Seattle defense, it may have been just five percent in the first 20 minutes.

And it wasn't one-sided as Loyola was able to keep Seattle off the board, especially Umipig who struggled to score. After an initial air ball by the Redhawks star, he heard it from the crowd every time he touched the ball until finally breaking his drought in the corner against a 1-3-1 Rambler zone.

Somehow, without Umipig scoring just the once, and Jarell Flora scoreless, Seattle held a slim one-point lead at the half, 21-20.

The back and forth continued in the second half until Umipig had his only other make of the night, a 3-pointer that put Seattle up 41-40 with 6:52 remaining.

Less than a minute later, Earl Peterson scored to tie the game at 42 and set off an 18-2 run by Loyola that put the game away. The Ramblers turned up the tempo on Seattle which helped avoid getting stuck in the Seattle zone. By the end of the night, Loyola would cause 22 turnovers and the run outs would help power the win.

Peterson scored six of his 15 points during the run, while Devon Turk went 5-for-9 from 3-point range. Turk is now just three 3-pointers shy of tying the career mark for triples at Loyola (204, Jake Schilb).

William Powell led the way for the Redhawks with 12 points, and Jack Crook had six point and six boards despite being in foul trouble.