The Loyola University New Orleans Men's Basketball team ended its Georgia road trip on Saturday evening, traveling to Brunswick to take the College of Coastal Georgia.
Powered by Jr. G Johnny Griffin Jr.'s (Chicago, Ill./Bloom Trail High)impressive 23-point and 23-rebound performance, the Wolf Pack defeated the Mariners 88-84 in overtime.
Griffin's 23 rebounds are the most by a player in the SSAC this season. He becomes the first player in the conference to grab 23 boards since Southern Wesleyan's Kenny Joyner did it in 2012.
With the victory, Loyola improves to 7-6 on the year and 3-3 in league action. Conversely, Coastal Georgia drops to 5-13 overall and 1-5 in conference play following the loss.
The Mariners started the game on a tear, taking the 10-2 lead in the first three minutes. The Wolf Pack answered with a 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 12-9, before a layup by Fr. G Tre'von Jasmine (Edgard, La./East St. John High) brought the score to 12-11 with 12:53 remaining. So. G Nick Parker (Port Allen, La./Port Allen) gave Loyola its first lead of the half at the 10:42 mark, sinking a three to put the visitors 18-16. Griffinconnected down low and Parker dropped in another three to put Loyola up 23-16 with just over nine minutes to play before halftime. The Wolf Pack held the single-digit lead for the remainder of the half before another long ball by Parker stretched the advantage to 11, 40-29, with 1:17 to play. Neither team managed to score in the final minute and the scoreboard read 40-29 heading into the locker rooms.
Fr. F Ryan Smith (Plano, Texas/Plano West High School) started the second half by making two free throws to stretch the Wolf Pack lead to 13 at 42-29. Loyola maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the half and looked poised to cruise to an easy victory. With Loyola up 74-64 with just 2:33 to play, the Mariners stormed back to knot the game at 74-74 with just 32 seconds left on the clock. Following a timeout, the Wolf Pack had two shots to win the game in regulation, but both attempts were blocked and the score stayed at 74-74.
Coastal Georgia jumped out to a two-point lead in the overtime period, before a 7-0 run by the Wolf Pack put the visitors up 83-76 with just a minute to play. The Mariners managed to cut the deficit to just two, 86-84, with 17 seconds remaining, but two free throws by Parker secured the 88-84 victory for Loyola.
Off the bench, Griffin led the Wolf Pack with 23 points and a game-high 23 rebounds. Parker poured in 20 points on 6-of-13 shooting, whileJasmine chipped in with 18 points. Jr. G Jalen Gray (New Orleans, La./Brother Martin) had a great all-around game for Loyola, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high four assists.
For the Mariners, Marquice Jones led all players with 27 points to go along with seven rebounds.
The Wolf Pack return to action on Saturday, January 16, taking on Faulkner at 4:00 p.m.
