Box Score Behind 16 points and five steals from Nick Parker, the Wolf Pack earns its sixth straight victory.
(New Orleans, La.) An 85-59 rout against the Brewton-Parker Barons on Thursday night gave the Wolf Pack men's basketball team a fifth straight victory and a perfect 1-0 record in conference play. The team would need that momentum for the match up against the College of Coastal Georgia on Saturday afternoon.
The game went down to the wire but Loyola survived the Mariners 66-64 behind a team-high 16 points from Nick Parker. The Wolf Pack improves to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) play following the win.
The Wolf Pack began the game with a layup by Johnny Griffin Jr. to give Loyola the 2-0 advantage.
Coastal Georgia's Isaiah Gibson knocked down a three pointer to put his team on top at 3-2. Loyola trailed 11-6 at the 15:46 mark of the first half until a field goal by Robert White and a three pointer by Eric Brown knotted the game at 11-11.
Coastal Georgia increased the lead to eight at 26-18 with 5:39 left in the first half, until an 8-0 run by the visiting team tied the game once again.
A pair of free throws by Nate Pierre gave the Wolf Pack the two point lead (28-26). Loyola forced a turnover in the final seconds of the first half which led to a layup by Jalen Gray as time expired in the first half. The Wolf Pack had the slim 35-32 lead over the Mariners heading into intermission.
Marbor Gabriel got things going for Coastal Georgia in the second half, cutting the slight lead to one (35-34). Loyola's response was a three pointer by Ethan Turner to put his team up four (38-34) in the early minutes of the second half.
The Wolf Pack would keep the lead over the next 12 minutes. The team held a 55-46 advantage over Coastal Georgia at the seven-minute mark of the second half, Loyola's largest lead of the ball game.
The home team would have a response, cutting the nine point lead down to two (59-57) with 3:39 remaining in the game.
With 14 seconds left in the contest, Gray stepped to the charity stripe to put the game out of reach. Gray split a pair of free throws, leaving the door open for Coastal Georgia and giving Loyola only a two point lead at 66-64.
A miss by the Mariners as time expired would seal the game for the Wolf Pack, giving them the 66-64 victory on the road. With the win, Loyola improves to 8-2 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
Loyola shot just 43 percent from the floor (24-of-56) and connected on only 5-of-20 three pointers in the win. The team also connected on 13-of-17 free throws good for 76.5 percent in the game.
The team was paced by 16 points and five steals by Parker who shot just 3-of-12 from the floor. Pierre added 14 points and five rebounds and Gray chipped in 12 points. White poured in a season-high 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting while Griffin Jr. tallied six points and collecting eight rebounds before fouling out of the game.
Loyola's next stop will be against the Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette, Louisiana on Dec. 7. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
