Box Score Griffin Jr. leads a balanced attack in the Wolf Pack's largest margin of victory over Xavier in program history.
The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team had a six-day layoff coming into Friday's rematch against crosstown rival Xavier University at First NBC Court. Loyola looked to complete a season sweep of the Gold Rush after defeating Xavier 78-76 at the Convocation Center on Nov. 15.
Behind Johnny Griffin Jr. (SR/Chicago, IL.)'s 21 points, six boards and three rim-rattling dunks, the Wolf Pack defeated the Gold Rush 72-53 on Friday night to improve to 9-2 on the season. Loyola's current seven-game winning streak is the longest by a Wolf Pack men's basketball team since Hall of Famer Jack Orsley's squad won 12 consecutive games back in 1945.
The 19-point win is the largest margin of victory for Loyola over Xavier in program history and Friday's sweep marks just the second time ever that the Wolf Pack took both games from the Gold Rush in a season dating back to 1994.
The Gold Rush got on the board first, with Elex Carter finishing on a layup off of a dish by Donovan Armstrong. Nick Parker (JR/Port Allen, La.) would have an answer, spotting up from beyond the arc and knocking down the three-pointer to put Loyola on top 3-2 in the early stages of the first half.
The Wolf Pack held an 11-6 lead over the Gold Rush after two free throws by Jalen Gray (SR/New Orleans, La.). Loyola increased that lead to 10, 20-10, with just under 10 minutes to play in the opening half.
The home team continued to pick up the momentum with Eric Brown (SO/Homer, La.) picking off an errant pass and feeding Griffin Jr. on the fast break for the emphatic dunk. The slam by Griffin Jr. gave the Wolf Pack a 25-14 advantage at the 6:17 mark of the first half.
With 0:30 seconds remaining in the half, Ethan Turner (SO/Covington, La) knocked down a three-pointer off the assist by Jalen Gray to give his team its largest lead of the half at 40-21. A layup by Xavier's Mike Williams would cut the lead to 17 (40-23) as the buzzer sounded on the first half.
The Wolf Pack shot just 34.5 percent from the floor (10-of-29) in the first half but converted 15-of-20 free throws (75%) in the opening frame.
Turner picked up right where he left off in the first half, knocking down a deep three-pointer to give his squad a 20-point advantage in the second half. A layup by Parker capped a 12-4 run for Loyola giving the home team a 25-point cushion in the contest with 15:15 left on the game clock.
Another Turner triple would increase the lead for the Wolf Pack at 55-27, their largest advantage of the ballgame.
Xavier would try to chip away at the lead but a reverse layup by Griffin Jr. off a backdoor pass by Gray in the final moments sealed the deal for Loyola. The Wolf Pack defeated the Gold Rush 72-53 to give Loyola the season sweep of their crosstown rivals.
Loyola shot 45.1 percent from the floor (23-of-51) and knocked down 44 percent of its three-pointers (8-of-18) in the victory.
Griffin Jr. led a balanced scoring effort by Loyola with 21 points and six rebounds. Brown added 14 points off the bench backed by four triples while Parker and Turner both tallied 13 points in the win.
The Wolf Pack will have a thirteen-day layoff before welcoming Dalton State College to the First NBC Court on Thursday, Dec. 29, for a Southern States Athletic Conference showdown. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
