Riverside-Brookfield’s Danny Loftus started against Nazareth on Jan. 11 and didn’t take a breather till the 2:40 mark of the third quarter.
He clearly earned a break after scoring 25 first-half points in the Bulldogs’ 78-65 road win.
The 6-foot-3 senior guard finished with a game-best 31 points. Cameron Mercer, a 6-2 junior guard, added 23 for the Bulldogs (11-7), while Vince Dockendorf chipped in eight.
“Danny’s been playing that well for most of the year,” R-B coach Mike Reingruber said. “He had a rough game (Friday) night, but he bounced back in a great way today.
“The key is how well he moves without the basketball, and he’s hard to guard. But how well Danny moves without the ball, that’s the biggest thing. He’s just crafty.”
Loftus’ craftiness was on display in the first quarter when he scored 12 points. With the Bulldogs leading 10-8, Loftus scored on three successive layups and one shot from inside the lane to give the guests an 18-17 advantage at the end of the period.
The Roadrunners (7-10) took a 22-21 lead at 4:28 of the second quarter on a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Jack Ariens. But R-B wrapped up the period with a 19-4 run that began with a 3-pointer from the right wing by Mercer, ended with a rebound basket at the buzzer by Benjamin Biskupic and featured 10 points from Loftus.
“I was able to run in transition and I got some open looks,” Loftus said. “My teammates hit me with great passes, I was able to go into the post and made some layups.
“I got a good majority of my points there.”
With Loftus able to get to the basket and Mercer drilling six 3-pointers for the game (3 in each half), R-B had a nice balance of inside play and outside shooting.
“Cam and I have played together for years starting in the junior program,” Loftus said. “We’ve played so much together over the years.
“I’m more of an inside scorer and he’s more catch-and-shoot. But we work well in tandem. I’m more the force inside and he’s more of a scorer from the outside.”
An 11-3 spurt by R-B stretched the lead to 51-29 at the 4:40 mark.
“It’s great to have Cam on the floor,” Reingruber said. “Obviously, he can really shoot it, but he also brings so much energy when he’s out on the floor.
“His first game back was (last Friday) because he missed four games with an ankle injury. But you see how hard he plays on both sides. He shoots very well and just keeps going and going.”
Sawyer Holstine paced a balanced Nazareth offense with 12 points. Oliver De Santiago contributed 11, Rasim Johnson added nine, Danny Wrzesinski scored eight, and Luke Dimit and Eddie Austin chipped in seven apiece.