Box Score Stingy defense and a commanding lead on the boards by Dalton State snaps the Wolf Pack's seven-game win streak.
After a 13-day layoff, the No. 22 Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team came into tonight's matchup against Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) opponent Dalton State College looking to extend its historic win streak to eight consecutive games.
The Wolf Pack struggled to find a rhythm against the Roadrunners stingy defense - a unit that ranks second in the NAIA in total steals - on Thursday evening en route to the 68-100 defeat at home. With the loss, Loyola drops to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Conversely, Dalton State jumps to 9-1 on the year behind a 1-1 mark in league play following the victory.
"When you find yourself getting nationally ranked or at the top of your league, teams are going to come at you hard," said Wolf Pack head coach Stacy Hollowell. "Game plan wise, we knew what they were going to do but we just went out there and let it happen. It certainly was a let down but we will be ready to come back on Saturday and get it done against Middle Georgia State."
Dalton State's Mon'Darius Black got things going for his team, knocking down a long two-point shot at the top of the key to break the scoring seal in the first minute of the game.
Johnny Griffin Jr. (SR/Chicago, IL.) responded with a layup plus the foul to put the home team up 3-2 with just under 19 minutes to play in the opening half.
That would be the home team's only lead of the contest as Dalton State stormed back with six unanswered points to bring the score to 8-3 with 16:04 on the clock.
The deficit only increased for the Wolf Pack as Dalton State guard Isaiah Box put his team up 24-13 at the midway point of the first half.
Eric Brown (SO/Homer, La.) had the answer for Loyola by knocking down a contested three from the corner to bring his team back within eight at 24-16.
Dalton State went on a 12-4 run over the next six minutes of the first half to grab the 36-20 advantage with 4:11 to go in the opening frame.
A layup by Robert White (JR/Los Angeles, Ca.) capped off an 8-2 spurt by Loyola to cut the deficit to 10 (38-28) in the final minute until halftime.
But the Roadrunners went on to outscore the home team 7-1 over the next 60 seconds to go into intermission with a 45-29 lead.
The Wolf Pack shot only 9-of-27 from the floor (33%) and just 1-of-7 (14%) from beyond the arc in the first half while the Roadrunners shot 54% (20-of-37) from the field and 40% (4-of-10) from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes of play.
Loyola would only come to within 13 points in the second half before the visiting team took control of the ballgame down the stretch.
Dalton State outscored the Wolf Pack 45-26 over the final 13:24 to grab the convincing 100-68 victory at First NBC Court.
Loyola shot 39% (23-of-59) for the game and just 23% (4-of-17) from beyond the arc. The Wolf Pack was outrebounded 46 to 28 on the glass and had 18 giveaways in the loss.
Nick Parker (JR/Port Allen, La.) led all scorers with 21 points including 9-of-11 from the charity stripe. Griffin Jr. added 16 points and eight rebounds in the contest while Jalen Gray (SR/New Orleans, La.) chipped in 10 points and three assists.
Box and Carnilious Simmons each added 17 points for Dalton State in the win.
The Wolf Pack returns to First NBC Court on Saturday, Dec. 31, for a SSAC matchup against Middle Georgia State. Tip-off from New Orleans is set for 2:00 p.m.
