Summerville, who also cha-chinged his way to 25 points, is somewhat surprised he's playing at all.
Though he spent two seasons on the varsity at Oxford, and had some respectable moments, his first thought upon transferring to Lamberton, not far from Saint Joseph's University, was to concentrate on schoolwork and resolve some personal issues (he now lives with his father, who's also named Loavel).
"But in our school," he said, "everybody gets together on Friday to play pickup games, and the guys could tell I had some skill. They were saying I should come out for the team. I didn't do it right away. I missed the first two to three games.
"At first, I wasn't really in favor of playing this position. But my team needed me to do it, and I'm trying to give it everything I can. It's very different from guard, but I'll do anything to get those wins."
Summerville is surviving, in part, because his leaping ability borders on eye-popping. If you stand right next to him and offer the challenge of a simultaneous jumping competition, expect to land about a half-day before he does. Plus, he has learned to bang.
"I'm liking it in there now," he said. "I like being physical and doing the scrappy things other players don't want to do."
In the first quarter, Summerville averaged a rebound per minute, thus preventing the Blue Devils from falling into an even bigger hole than 17-10. Lamberton claimed the second quarter, 24-12, and Summerville was outstanding, with 12 points, six more boards and a pair of blocks. Two of his buckets came on three-pointers. Hey, once a guard . . .
"I do like to step out occasionally," he said, beaming.
Overall, Summerville shot 10-for-19 from the floor (3-for-6 on treys) and 2-for-2 at the line. His most impressive moment came late in the first half when a teammate offered him an alley-oop pass. Though Loavel was not quite able to guide the ball into the hoop, he hopped to the opposite side, easily grabbed the rebound and quickly scored on a follow.
What is this kid's vertical, anyway?
"I've never been tested," he said. "I couldn't always jump like this. We used to have a weightlifting class at Oxford. I always worked on my legs."
Summerville dished out high praise for the Blue Devils' other little guys.
Kevin Cooper, most often the point guard, whirlwinded his way to 14 points, six steals and even 17 rebounds. Anthony Fagan, the primary wing, totaled 20 points and four assists; that last number was matched by Bernard McIntyre.
"And we all played great defense," Summerville said. "Edison wasn't getting easy shots."
Victor Nevarez and Montrell Gilliam (three treys) halved 28 points for the Owls, while Varien Harris snagged seven rebounds. Star guard Jessi Carrasquillo, returning from a serious left-ankle injury suffered right before the season began, swished his first shot, a trey, but later showed rust while going 2-for-14 overall (five points).
Though Summerville, who lives on Vogdes Street within two blocks of Shepard, is willing to listen to college pitches, he's thinking of joining the Army.
"It would give me more discipline," he said. "Teach me how to handle things better in life. I think I need that right now."
Let's hope his intramural basketball team includes some big guys.
