Thought we lost it in the 2nd half due to shooting. Then lost in OT due to the FT line. We gave them the game. The 2 fouls we committed against them at the 3 pt line were tortuous.
Bonnies coached well. With a double OT game, we should have had the edge with energy.

Man...this makes the loss hurt even more. I think we match up well against Duquesne.
Had we won this game, we'd probably be playing VCU in the final.

Crazy that all the top 4 seeds got eliminated.

It’s a shame. Richmond and Dayton go out and we pick the worst possible time to have one of the worst shooting nights this season. Shame. We all knew FT was gonna catch up to us at some point, it did tonight.

How many chip shots can one team miss. Alston has always been a guy who misses one and gets his own rebound to get the second. Dame couldn't jump over a phone book so he gets blocked in traffic. Rubin...dunk that freaking ball.

I really don't care about the NIT. The NCAA was there for the taking and we blew it. Can't see it any other way when you have a 10 point lead with 8 to go

Tough way to end a really good season. My 2 cents
I attended the first Loyola vs St. Bona game at Bona and Schmidt to no one's surprise out-coached Drew. Same story last night, the longer the game went it was not going in Loyola's favor.
Two issues at the end of the game-

On the Banks foul why are Rubin and Watson doubling him above the 3-point line, just doesn’t make sense to me. Rubin leaving his feet was a really poor decision. Even if we don’t foul Banks, Venning was wide open because of the miscommunication between Watson and Rubin.

On the last play, who draws up a 30-foot shot for Watson and did not even draw iron after he was 2 for 15 at that point? I was not at the game but a friend was, he noticed how at the end of game time outs Drew spent a lot of time out time talking to his assistant coach (I assume Sean Dywer) and then joining the huddle. On the flip side, Schmidt just coaches his guys and doesn’t talk to any assistants.

Loyola’s just seemed out of sync and although Braden had a great career as the emotional leader of the team he just really struggled last night. That being said, he will be difficult to replace.

How does Welch not get more minutes after 4 minutes of pure production?

I am with ADMG, forget the NIT

The season started slow, got rolling great and then ended in disappointment. Back to the portal—need at least a point guard, another guard, a power forward, and a center.

Last year of the grad transfer right? Is the last season with the covid exemptions (eg. last year with large benches?)

Loyola will not turn down the NIT.

Went to bed angry. Woke up angry. Cannot believe we lost that game. We absolutely handed then the game down the stretch. Missed free throws. Missed bunnies. Dumb fouls. Daryl Banks just baiting us into fouls left and right.

How can we look so good for 35 minutes and then like absolute crap in the final 5 minutes and two OTs.

Welch deserved more PT. Dame's FT shooting was great down the stretch (only LU player we can say that about). Otherwise, he wasn't great down low and Drew over relied on him to produce.

Braden and Lucas had similar endings to their LU careers. Both absolute Loyola legends, two of the best to ever put on the maroon and gold. And both had brutal games to end. Feel for Braden.

Have a million more things I could say. But I am gonna go punch a wall or something

It was a really bad way to lose. I felt like St. Bonaventure was the worst matchup we could have had. Kind of embarrassing to lose by one point in double overtime because of SO MANY missed free throws and/or the other team getting SO MANY free throws that they hit over and over.

But I disagree with AMDG and others who seem totally disgusted. At the beginning of the year-- and even into the middle of December-- I would have been happy and quite grateful with an 18-13 season and a .500 record in conference. When we beat Duquesne at home and St. Joes on the road, I thought we really COULD go over .500 in conference....

The game that made me think we really had a chance to get a double-bye was the game at George Mason (Feb. 7). I was at the game at GW on Feb. 10, where we got our FIFTH conference road victory of the year, and I thought we'd locked up a top 5 finish with that game that put us at 9-2 in conference......

Given my expectations from the beginning of the season, after losing to UIC at home, after losing at Tulsa, I thought 9-2 was amazing. Watching Miles Rubin get better almost every game was amazing. Watching guys repeatedly step up during foul trouble, clutch moments, and injuries was amazing. Watching Coach Valentine getting better from the start of the year to conference play was really satisfying given all the gleeful chit-chat in the early going.

So it's going to be one of those painful/embarrassing/lingering losses, the ones that make bitter memories like the 2020 Arch Madness... 2022 at UNI... the 2018 game against Furman... the 2007 Horizon League Tournament loss to Butler... the 2002 Horizon League Final.... Rough stuff.

There was no way in November 2023 I thought it was possible that we'd tie for the 2024 A-10 Regular Season Title, beat a ranked team at home (for the first time since 1986), win 23 games overall or 15 games in conference. I certainly didn't think we'd have a chance at an NIT berth on Selection Sunday. So I'm a little down, but not disappointed when I think of what was accomplished this year.

Upset on the outcome, but very happy on the year overall.

When the expectations are exceeded is a great thing. Losing yesterday, choking, and with the pathway to a bid becoming clearer and more visible hurts a lot. Everything went wrong during the last 30 minutes of game.

This loss mirrored the 2020 MVC quarterfinal to Valpo. That day, all the top seeds lost too. We choked.

We are setting ourselves up very fine for the next few years. Next year's returning core looks very nice and should have us projected for another top A10 finish. We should be very excited for next year, and also hope we find a few blue chips in the portal (Center/PF, and an experienced shot-creating PG at minimum).

Next year, we absolutely cannot shoot ourselves in the non-conf segment of the year like we did this year. Otherwise, I think we have our name called on Sunday instead of some other bubble teams.

I liked Drew's post-game comments in the A10 video. It wasn't the attitude of a losing coach. Thanks for posting it Jersey City.

Only a couple teams end the year with a W. and the pain of this defeat parallels the expectations that were built by an surprising season full of positives. #1 for me was that this team established the fact that we can compete in the A-10 and #2 was the maturation of Coach Valentine. #3 We were treated to some great games at Gentile with a great atmosphere.#4 some great performances. I think I will remember the end of the UMASS game for a long time which brings me to #5 lots of individual efforts that were really incredible. The Phil Alston end of game performance at the end of the UMASS game was something...Dame and his YMCA moves, Welch being Welch and the continual overall excellence of Norris at point guard.#6 the fact that this team did not quit.Early in December after the USF game things looked bleak then we beat SLU on the road and did not stop until a poor shooting performance again ended our season in an absolute heartbreaker. #7 Was 2010 Jim Whitesell's last year in a loss to St.Peters in a gym that could not have had 500 people that I wondered if this would be as good as it gets? Was Whitesell's last year 15-13 then we went 1-17 in the Horizon the following year, Coach Moser's first. So perspective always helps. #8 The great student involvement at the Gentile has also been a plus. ..SO yep this one is going to linger for awhile..but in the total a lot of positives to take away from this season.....and a thanks to the team for their effort this year....It is appreciated.