With their moms watching from the Alaska Airlines Stadium stands, Milton Doyle and Donte Ingram teamed up for an alley-oop dunk that sparked the game-winning run for Loyola Chicago in Wednesday's late-late show at the Great Alaska Shootout.
Doyle, a junior from Chicago, lobbed the pass that Ingram,a sophomore from Chicago, caught above the rim for a dunk that helped power their team's 67-57 first-round victory over San Diego.
The shot delighted a crowd of 2,362 that included both players' mothers, who traveled together to Anchorage to watch their sons play.
Ingram's jam gave Loyola a 40-37 lead with 14 minutes left in the game.
San Diego lead once after that, 44-42, but the Ramblers came roaring back.
Devon Turk netted a 3-pointer at the 11:54 mark to ignite a 19-5 run that gave the Ramblers a 61-51 lead with 80 seconds left.
"It's the energy we have as a team," Turk said. "One basket, one stop, and it gives us energy."
The alley-oop play was part of Loyola's power surge, he said.
"That was a nice one. It was a spark," he said.
Turk poured in a game-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting that included a 5-of-9 effort from 3-point range.
Earl Peterson chipped in 13 points and six assists and Doyle added 11 points and five assists for the Ramblers (4-1).
Duda Sanadze topped San Diego (0-4) with 20 points and eight rebounds.
The game tipped off at 10 p.m. in order to accommodate the scheduling needs of CBS Sports, which broadcast the game.
It ended at 11:52 p.m. -- in body-clock time, that's 12:52 a.m. for the San Diego players and 2:52 a.m. for the Loyola players.
"You guys tired?" San Diego coach Lamont Smith said with a grin to the CBS crew after the game.
Turk, a 6-foot-4 senior guard, said the Ramblers prepared for the late game in the days leading up to the game.
"The last couple nights we stayed up late," he said. "We went out to eat."
Both teams get Thanksgiving off before returning to action Friday.
Loyola will play Toledo in a 5:30 p.m. semifinal. San Diego faces San Jose State in noon consolation game.
Thursday's games feature UAA against Middle Tennessee State at 5:30 p.m. and Drexel against UNC Asheville at 8 p.m.