Rams Hold Off Wardens To Go 4-0

An early season Class B conference showdown between the Deer Lodge Wardens and the Loyola Rams went down at the RAC Thursday night that resulted in the Rams earning their fourth straight win by fending off the Wardens with a 68-57 victory.

Things started out at with fury of offense as both teams boat raced to a combined 42 points in the first quarter with the Rams coming out physical putting the team in foul trouble. Seniors Jack Lincoln and Jacob Hollenback played off each other to go for a combined 18 points in the opening quarter, Hollenback lead all shooters with 10 points in the opening frame.

Both teams settled in defensively in the second quarter, but the Wardens where only able to score 10 points while the Rams earned 16 of their own. Down 38-30 to start the third quarter Deer Lodge had the ball and made good use of it with Warden senior Dyllon McDermid knocking down a three in the opening possession, and matched it two possessions later. No matter what Deer Lodge did to move the ball on their offensive end of the court, Loyola would counter on the Ram’s end to keep themselves ahead to the Wardens.

Things started to look like they were going to go Deer Lodge’s way when Ram leader Jacob Burns was forced to the bench due to foul trouble late in the game, and the ball began to bounce the Wardens way, but late game turnovers were to much for the Wardens to overcome. With bench players filtered in for Loyola, the younger players gained meaningful game time experience in the final minutes of the game to help propel the Rams to a victory.