Box Score Loyola will face top-seeded No. 17 William Carey University tomorrow, March 3, at 2:15 p.m.
In the second game of the afternoon, the No.8-seed Loyola University New Orleans Men's Basketball team faced off against the No.9-seed University of Mobile in the opening round of the SSAC Men's Basketball Championship, presented by Newk's Eatery, at the Cramton Bowl Multiplex in Montgomery, Ala.
The Wolf Pack handled business in round one, downing the Rams 70-53 to advance to day two.
Loyola will take on the top-seeded No. 17 William Carey University tomorrow, March 3 at 2:15 p.m. The Wolf Pack fell to the Crusaders 105-88 last week to end the regular season.
Jr. F Johnny Griffin Jr. (JR/Chicago, IL.) led Loyola with 12 points and Jr. G Jalen Gray (JR/New Orleans, La.) chipped in 10 points and a game-high five assists. Fr. C Henry McDonald (FR/Fernwood, Miss.) added 11 points off the bench, while Fr. G Ethan Turner (FR/Covington, La) added eight points in the victory.
For the Rams, James Davis led all scorers with 14 points.
The Wolf Pack shot 22-of-45 (52%) from the floor and 8-of-17 (47%) from beyond the arc. Loyola forced 23 turnovers on Wednesday and won the bench scoring battle 38-15.
After exchanging the lead for the first six-plus minutes, Mobile scored six-unanswered points to take the 16-10 advantage with 13:22 to play in the first half. Loyola orchestrated a 15-4 run over the next seven minutes to take the 25-20 lead with just under seven minutes to go before halftime. Mobile managed to cut the deficit to as little as three points on three separate occasions down the stretch, but the Wolf Pack were able to withstand the pressure to take the 33-27 cushion in to the locker rooms.
A triple by Gray at the 14:46 mark gave Loyola its first double-digit lead of the afternoon at 43-32. The Rams cut the deficit to nine points, before Loyola went on a 13-2 run to stretch the advantage to 57-36 with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation. The Wolf Pack were able to maintain a comfortable lead for the remainder of the game en route to the 70-53 victory in the opening round.
