Loyola heads to Baton Rouge on Saturday for a matchup against Southern at 3:00 p.m.
After landing inside the NAIA Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll for just the second time ever yesterday, the No. 22 Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team headed to Lafayette on Wednesday evening to square off against NCAA DI University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Despite solid games from Johnny Griffin Jr. (SR/Chicago, IL.) and Jalen Gray (SR/New Orleans, La.), the Wolf Pack (8-2) were unable to overcome four Ragin Cajuns in double-figures en route to the 94-60 exhibition loss on the road.
The Wolf Pack started the game down 4-10 before free throws by Tre'von Jasmine and layups by Robert White (JR/Los Angeles, Ca.) and Jalen Gray would knot the game at 10-10 with 14:55 to play in the opening half. The home team managed to grab the double-digit lead at 21-10 before Gray connected on a jumper to bring the Wolf Pack within nine, 12-21, with just under 10 minutes to play. Up 16 points with 2:30 remaining in the half, Lafayette was in a prime position to put the game out of reach at home. Loyola turned to Gray to keep the contest within striking distance and he answered with four-straight points to cut the deficit to 28-40 with under 30 seconds to play in the opening frame. The Ragin Cajuns ended the first half with two free throws to take the 42-28 advantage into the locker rooms.
Following a layup by Jasmine, Lafayette put up five unanswered points before a layup by Gray stopped the run with the score 32-47 with 18:12 to play. Up 15 points, the home team strung together an 8-0 spurt to grab the 59-36 advantage with just over 16 minutes to go. The remaining minutes saw the home team steadily build on their cushion – extending the lead to as much as 34 points with 3:28 to play. A monstrous dunk by Griffin Jr. sparked a 6-0 run by Loyola – capped off by a layup from Gray – to bring the score to 60-88 with 2:19 left on the clock. The home team responded with a 6-0 run of its own to close out the game and grab the 94-60 exhibition victory.
The Wolf Pack shot 26-of-63 (41.3%) from the field and 2-of-12 (16.7%) from beyond the arc on Wednesday. Conversely, the Ragin Cajuns connected on 34-of-61 (55.7%) shots from the floor while dropping in 6-of-15 triples in the victory.
Griffin Jr. and Gray each notched 16 points on Wednesday, with Gray adding a team-high four assists and three steals. Off the bench, Robert White added eight points, seven boards and a team-high two blocks while Jasmine chipped in seven points and three rebounds in the loss.
Frank Bartley IV and Bryce Washington led four Lafayette players to score in double-figures, with each pouring in 19 points on Wednesday night.
Loyola hits the road on Saturday. Dec. 7, to take on Southern University – Baton Rouge in an exhibition game set to start at 3:00 p.m.
