Wilde Lake's Will Edison had the honor of scoring the first basket in River Hill's new gymnasium yesterday.
Unfortunately, that was the high point for a Wildecats squad that struggled offensively and defensively before losing to Loyola, 69-47.
The season-opening game almost never came off, as workmen struggled to prepare the gym for its inaugural game. Wilde Lake has moved to newly constructed River Hill while its own school is being rebuilt.
"We weren't sure until 1:30 this afternoon that there would be a game," Wilde Lake athletic director Carol Satterwhite said. "There were still 12 holes in the gym floor then, and the bleachers were still on the floor."
Wilde Lake has had to practice at Gateway School, which is the old Clarksville Middle School. The gymnasium there is tiny and has prevented the Wildecats from working on certain parts of its game -- such as a full-court press.
"We didn't press at all the first half," Wilde Lake coach Paul Ellis said. "We were trying to take it slow and adjust to the bigger gym."
Luckily for Wilde Lake, Loyola also struggled offensively through the first three quarters, shooting just 12-for-41 from the floor.
But the Dons picked it up in the fourth quarter when Mike O'Neill (24 points) hit three straight shots -- two of them from three-point range. Loyola went on to shoot 8-for-11 that quarter and enlarge upon the 46-35 lead that it held after three quarters.
Wilde Lake trailed by as few as seven points in the third quarter, after Carl Jackson's inside shot made it 33-26. But the Dons showed some discipline at working the ball inside and continued to score frequently at the free-throw line (23-for-34).
Matt Neumayer (6 feet 6) scored three points after Jackson's basket, and Adam Shigley added a basket to put Loyola ahead, 38-26.
Jackson's rebound shot cut it to 44-35 near the end of the third quarter. But Loyola scored the next 10 points, and the game was far out of reach early in the fourth period.
Wilde Lake lacked a consistent shooter who could close the gap. The Wildecats shot 16-for-60 from the floor.