Box Score Wolf Pack win third-straight game.
THU, 02/11/2016
With a season high three-game winning streak hanging in the balance, the Loyola University New Orleans Men's Basketball team welcomed SSAC foe Martin Methodist College to The Den on Thursday evening for a major SSAC showdown.
Powered by 19 points each from So. G Nick Parker (Port Allen, La./Port Allen) and Jr. G/F Johnny Griffin Jr. (Chicago, Ill./Bloom Trail High), Loyola outlasted the RedHawks 64-54 to earn its third-straight victory.
The Wolf Pack improve to 12-10 overall and 7-7 in the SSAC with the win, while Martin Methodist falls to 14-11 on the year and 7-7 in league play after the loss.
Griffin recorded his league-leading 13th double-double, grabbing 11 boards to go along with his 19 points. Parker racked up 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and five rebounds, while Fr. G Tre'von Jasmine(Edgard, La./East St. John High) added 13 points in the victory.
Broderick Davis led the RedHawks with 13 points and Caleb Chowbaygrabbed a team-high eight boards on Thursday.
Loyola shot 25-of-51 (49%) from the floor and 6-of-19 (32%) from beyond the arc.
So. C Robert White (Los Angeles, Calif./Cathedral) started the game with a hook shot to put the Wolf Pack on the board first, before back-to-back buckets from Jasmine gave Loyola the 6-0 advantage to force a Martin Methodist timeout with 15:58 remaining in the first quarter. Down 15-9, the RedHawks battled back and scored six-unanswered points of their own to knot the game at 15-15 with 6:43 to play. The score tied two more times before the home team put up back-to-back hoops to take the 23-19 advantage with just 43 seconds remaining. The first half ended with a layup by Martin Methodist's Oskar Reinfelds and the scoreboard read 23-23 heading in to the locker rooms.
Holding on to a slim 38-34 advantage in the second half, Loyola strung together six-straight points to extend the advantage to 44-34 with 9:22 to play. The Wolf Pack's first double-digit lead came just moments later as Jr. G Jalen Gray (New Orleans, La./Brother Martin) connected on two free throws to put the home team up 46-36 with 8:51 remaining. The RedHawks were able to cut the deficit to seven with 3:19 to play before Loyola was able to put the game out of reach thanks to a fantastic press break and patience. When the final buzzer sounded, Loyola earned the 65-54 victory on Thursday.
Loyola will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 13, as they welcome Bethel University to The Den for the Wolf Pack's final home game of the 2015-16 season. Tipoff between Loyola and the Wildcats is set for 4:00 p.m.
