After a tight contest that required extra time, the Loyola Ramblers fell to the Dayton Flyers by a score of 85-81. Despite being heavy underdogs, the Ramblers were able to stick with Dayton almost all night in a game that could’ve gone either way. The loss now drops the Ramblers to 7-14 (1-8 A10). Here are three observations from the game:

Technical fouls hurt Rambler momentum

Late in the second half, Tom Welch and Daro Holmes II got into a bit of a scrum after the play. Welch shoved Holmes off of him after the play with Dayton responding with a shove right back, resulting in technical fouls being assessed to both sides, along with the initial foul on the play for Welch. Welch ended up fouling out not long after, with Dayton going on a run to eventually take the lead from the Ramblers.

Alston almost propels Ramblers to upset

After a career game against Duquesne, Philip Alston followed it up with another key performance, leading the Ramblers to almost take the victory. Alston finished his night with 22 points, none more important than the three-pointer he made at the buzzer to send the Ramblers to overtime. 

Foul trouble eventually forced Alston out of the game, leaving the Ramblers without their top scorer as they eventually lost out to Dayton.

Multiple Flyers step up for career performances

With their leading scorer in Holmes being held quiet all game, Dayton received huge contributions from Toumani Camara and Malachi Smith. Camara led all scorers in tonight’s affair with 31 points to finish one rebound short of a double double. Smith, on the other hand, led all scorers with 8 assists while also putting forward 21 points. Both represented career-high points totals for the pair.

The Ramblers now return home for a rematch against George Mason, with tipoff beginning at 1:30 p.m. on USA.