by Peter Dalmasy

Loyola, which has taken down more than its share of opponents with deadly outside shooting this season, was given a dose of its own medicine, Sunday afternoon in Towson, as host Towson Catholic sank nine threes on its way to a 69-47 MIAA A Conference/Baltimore Catholic League rout of the Dons.

Senior Vinny Breckenridge sparked the TC offense with four long range jumpers, including three in the opening quarter, when the Owls established control they would never relinquish.  Breckenridge finished with a game high 17 points.

Loyola elected to double-team Towson Catholic's Brandon Greene, the club's leading score, down in the post.  The Dons were able to limit Greene to just eight points, but this created holes for shooting specialists Breckenridge and junior Devin Spencer.  Spencer, who has recently been promoted the starting lineup, also contributed four threes and finished with 14-points for head coach Josh Pratt and the Owls.  Also making a mark from the outside was Toledo-bound point guard Larry Bastfield, who netted in nine points.

When asked about how TC prepared for Loyola's strong perimeter offense, Spencer said, "They're all good shooters [Matt Rum, James Davenport, Sal Schittino], so we went out at them."

The Owls held Loyola to a lackluster 25% shooting in the game.  After losing to #1 Mount St. Joseph last Wednesday at the College of Notre Dame, the Owls have now bounced back and defeated John Carroll and Loyola.

"After we lost to St. Joe, Coach got a little hot, so we knew we had to come out hard," said Spencer.

The Dons were led by senior James Davenport's 11, while junior Matt Rum finished with nine.

Towson Catholic (7-3 MIAA, 5-2 BCL, 11-9) now find themselves tied with St. Frances for second place in the BCL standings, and trying to guarantee home-court advantage in the MIAA A Conference playoffs as the season reaches its mid-point. They are currently in third place in the 'A' Conference.

With the loss, Loyola (5-4 MIAA, 4-4 BCL, 11-4) has now lost four of its last six, after a hot 9-0 start. The Dons hope to get back on track Tuesday night as they host St. John's Catholic Prep.

Towson Catholic 69, Loyola 47
LOY   10    12      6     19  -  47    
TC     16     22    18    14  -  69

Loyola: Stanwick 5, Schittino 5, Floyd 2, Mahle, Dauses 2, Shewell 3, Davenport 11, Rum 8, Heacock 5, Lowe 5. Totals 15 13-21 47.
Towson Catholic: Bastfield 9, Breckenridge 17, Greene 8, Bruce 6, Spencer 14, Sizer 7, Hester 5, Hann, Noel 2. Totals 21 18-24 69.
Half: Towson Catholic, 38-22.