Donte Ingram hits last-second shot, Loyola upsets Miami 64-62

DALLAS — It wasn’t pretty, but it was pretty thrilling. In its first NCAA Tournament game in 33 years, Loyola didn’t disappoint.

Despite trailing by seven against Miami in the second half, the Ramblers never doubted themselves.

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With a minute left, Ramblers guard Clayton Custer made a three-pointer to tie the score. Loyola fans erupted as if the game had been won.

After Miami made a jumper and Loyola split two free throws, the Hurricanes had the ball and appeared to have the game wrapped up, leading by one. But Lonnie Walker IV turned the ball over, giving the Ramblers possession with 23.5 seconds left.

After a quick timeout, Loyola missed back-to-back layups and had to foul after Sam Waardenburg grabbed the rebound. Loyola’s Cinderella dreams appeared to be dashed again.

But Walker missed the free throw, and redshirt junior Marques Townes came up with the ball. With time running out, Townes struggled to find an opening. He passed the ball to senior Donte Ingram, who buried a last-second three-pointer.

The entire team rushed the court, but the officials put 0.3 seconds back on the clock. Miami called a timeout as fans celebrated Ingram’s shot. Senior walk-on Nick DiNardi looked beyond Loyola’s huddle and yelled, “Oh, my God. Oh, my God.”

After the timeout, the Hurricanes couldn’t get a shot off, and the 11th-seeded Ramblers pulled off the upset, edging sixth-seeded Miami 64-62. It was Loyola’s first win against an ACC opponent since 1994.

Fans roared as the players celebrated.

“As a kid, this is what you grow up seeing, hoping that you can be in that moment,” said Ingram, one of four Ramblers in double figures with 13 points. “For me to be in this position with these guys, with this coaching staff, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

As the players exited the court, they all stopped to greet their No.  1 fan, 98-year-old nun Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt.

“I knew they had it in them,” she said. “Once Donte gets hot, there’s no stopping him.”

A half-hour after the game, her smile still glowed in the hallway outside Loyola’s locker room. She said she didn’t believe she would ever see Loyola in an NCAA Tournament game again, let alone win one.

Loyola’s rousing victory is just the latest chapter in this storybook season. The Ramblers tied the school record — set by the 1963 national-championship team — for wins in a season with 29.

Ingram, who led the team with seven rebounds, said Loyola wasn’t content with just an NCAA Tournament appearance.

“We’re not happy to just be here,” Ingram said. “Just like any other team, we want to compete, and we want to win games.”

Loyola wrote a happy ending to its first Cinderella story, but the Ramblers will have to produce a sequel Saturday, when they face third-seeded Tennessee (26-8).

The Volunteers defeated Wright State 73-47.

But for now, coach Porter Moser wants his Ramblers to enjoy the moment but also get ready to put their “blinders on” and focus on the next task at hand.

Follow me on Twitter @madkenney.

Email: mkenney@suntimes.com