NEW ORLEANS, LA.- The Wolf Pack of Loyola University of New Orleans faced off with Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) leader William Carey University Crusaders on Saturday. It was a very physical contest featuring 63 total fouls and 31 turnovers. However, Loyola was unable to steal a win from the top team in the conference and lost by a final score of 83-71.
So. G Nick Parker (Port Allen, La./Port Allen) knocked down a three-pointer for the the first basket of the game and was followed by a layup from Jr. F Johnny Griffin (Chicago, Ill./Bloom Trail High) to put Loyola ahead 5-0. That, however, would be the largest of the half for the Wolf Pack. There were seven ties and seven lead changes in the first half.
Jr. GJalen Gray (New Orleans, La./Brother Martin) made a field goal with 4:26 remaining in the half, tying the game at 24. The Crusaders then knocked down back-to-back shots from beyond the arc en route to a 14-5 run. The run sent Loyola to the locker room trailing 38-29.
Both squads came out of the locker room playing aggressive and very physical. It was evident by the 44 total fouls in the half. The Wolf Pack are not strangers to physical games as they have played that way all season and even hold the NAIA's season high for fouls in a game when they combined for 74 with Webber International in the opening game of the season.
Trailing by 11 with 17:11 to play, Parker was fouled hard while driving to the basket, but sank the shot and the ensuing free throw to complete three-point play. After the Crusaders hit a three, Parker marched down to the other end of the floor and answered with a trey of his own. That started a 13-6 run to bring the score to 48-43.
William Carey extended the lead back to as high as eleven and lead by no less than seven for most of the half. However, the Wolf Pack were not prepared to concede.
While trailing by nine with just under three minutes to play, Griffin was drew a foul and hit the tough shot to bring the score to 72-65. After a made free throw by the Crusdaers, Griffin scored another basket in the paint. A made free throw by So. G Sam Kohnke (New Orleans, La./Isidore Newman School) made it 73-68 with 1:54 remaining, but that is as much as Loyola could cut into the deficit. They fell to the Crusaders by a final score of 83-71.
The Wolf Pack shot a very respectable 22-of-55 (40%) from the field. Yet they could not get things going from beyond the arc or at the charity stripe, shooting 4-of-17 (23.5%) and 23-of-37 (62.2%), respectively. They did play stellar defense, which has become a staple for Coach Stacy Hollowell's crew, and forced 19 turnovers and had 44 rebounds.
Griffin had another monster game registering his SSAC-leading tenth double-double with 20 points and 16 boards. Parker and Gray both filled out the stat sheet nicely for the Wolf Pack. Parker finished with 14 points, six boards, and four steals. At the end of the night Gray had 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Loyola, however, did have five different members of the team foul out, including four of the five starters.
For the Crusaders, Troy Salvant led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Donta Pittman was the second leading scorer with 20 points on 16-of-25 (64%) shooting from the free throw line. As a team, William Carey shot 24-of-54 (44.4%) from the field and 5-of-11 (45.5%) from beyond the arc.
It was a special Hall of Fame game for the Wolf Pack. Loyola inducted Richard Bouckaert, Don "Panda" Kalinowski, Mary Seals, Trenese Smith, and Ed "Skeets" Tuohy into the Wolf Pack Athletics Hall of Fame as the Class of 2016.
The Wolf Pack travel to Tennesse for two SSAC matchups. On January 28 they will face Martin Methodist in Pulaski at 7:30. They will take on Bethel in McKenzie on January 31 at 4:00. The Wolf Pack return to The Den on February 2 against crosstown rival Dillard University.
