Niles West Collapses Again Under Big Deficit

Large first-half deficits are quickly becoming a trend for Niles West, and not one that coach Bob Williams can be particularly pleased about.

On Saturday, Niles West trailed at home by 18 points at halftime and couldn't rally back in a 64-52 loss to Loyola Academy.

After a come-from-behind win against rival Niles North on Dec. 4 , the Wolves have now lost two straight games after going 6-0 at the start of the season. The common theme during the slump: slow starts and a huge size disadvantage.

"Down 15 points you have to spend so much time and energy just to get it back to five," Williams said. "We got it there, but we couldn't sustain it."

Loyola's size advantage was evident early on. Center Jared Prince at 6-foot-7 and forward Briggs King at 6-foot-5 scored layups inside, and the Ramblers got out to a quick 7-1 lead at the start of the game.

Niles West struggled on the offensive end. Primarily a jump-shooting team, the Wolves were bothered by Loyola's length.

"We did not execute at all against their half-court trap," Williams said.

Even as Prince picked up his second foul midway through the first quarter and sat out the remainder of the first half, Loyola continued to dump the ball inside. Forward Michael Lang used his 6-foot-8 frame to score 10 points--all on layups--in the first half and helped to give Loyola a 37-19 lead at halftime.

"For the first time this year we got really solid production from our bench, that means six through 11," Loyola Academy coach Tom Livatino said. "I was really pleased that all those guys came in, filled their roles. We have to build some depth, and they answered the bell."

But as is customary with Niles West, the Wolves fought back and went on a run. After Tony Pierce and Donte Logan converted back-to-back layups, Pierce nailed a 3-pointer. Within the first minute of the second half, Niles West had trimmed the lead to 10.

The Wolves' ball pressure started to wear on Loyola's guards, forcing four turnovers in the first three minutes of the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Logan and Pierce cut the lead to seven, and Niles West climbed to within five on a jumper from Patrick O'Connor.

"The second half we played more like we have been playing and it was a more competitive game," Williams said.

As a consequence of Niles West's constant pressure, the Wolves fell into foul trouble and Loyola was in the single bonus before the third quarter ended. Those fouls caught up with Niles West in the final eight minutes. Loyola shot 14 free throws in the final quarter, converting nine of those attempts.

After the 6-minute mark, Niles West couldn't get the deficit under double digits, suffering its second straight home defeat.

Logan led the Wolves with 19 points and Pierce put in 15. Loyola Academy's Michael Lang led all scorers with 21 points.

Niles West travels to Evanston for a Central Suburban League South matchup on Friday.

"We've got no easy games on our schedule," Williams said. "We need to bring our best effort in the first half and tonight we didn't do that."