Box Score The Wolf Pack finish the season at 19-14 overall and 10-8 in conference play
MONTGOMERY, ALA.- The Loyola University New Orleans Men's Basketball team faced off with Faulkner University in the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament Semifinal on Friday.
The Wolf Pack came in as the No. 8-seed and were the underdogs against the No. 4-seed Eagles. Loyola made a late charge, but fell to Faulkner 74-69.
Trailing 19-10, the Wolf Pack got a basket from Fr. G Tre'Von Jasmine (Edgard,La./East St. John High) and a three pointer from Fr. G Ethan Turner (Covington, La./Mandeville) to cut the deficit to 19-15 with 8:08 remaining in the half.
After Faulkner extended their lead to 25-15, So. C Nate Pierre (Folsom, La./Covington) scored on a pass from Turner to ignite a 14-4 run. A three pointer by Fr. C Henry McDonald (Fernwood,Miss./Parklane Academy) capped the run and gave Loyola their first lead, 29-28, with 2:13 left in the first frame of action.
The Eagles responded with a 7-0 run that gave them a 35-29 advantage heading into the locker rooms.
Both defenses were on display to start the second half and neither team made a field goal until Jasmine's fast break layup with 17:01 left to play.
After Loyola cut the deficit to 42-38, Faulkner went on a 12-3 run to give them their largest lead of the game, 54-41, with 9:12 remaining.
The Eagles struggles at the free throw line allowed Loyola to close the deficit to 64-57 with 2:14 of action remaining. Trailing by eight with under a minute to play, So. G Nick Parker (Port Allen, La./Port Allen) hit a three pointer to close the gap to 69-64 with 42 seconds on the clock.
After a series of free throw attempts by both teams, Parker hit two from the charity stripe to make it a one possession game, 72-69, with 14 seconds left. After the Eagles sank two free throws, a crucial turnover ended the Wolf Pack's second-consecutive comeback bid, and their tournament run ended with a 74-69 loss.
Overall, Loyola shot 24-of-63 (38.1%) from the field and 4-of-21 (19%) from beyond the arc. After not getting to the line in the first half, they shot 17-of-26 (65.4%) from the charity stripe in the second half. They controlled the paint with a 40-29 rebounding advantage and five blocks, three by McDonald and two by Pierre.
Jr. F Johnny Griffin (Chicago, Ill./Bloom Trail High) led the Pack with 15 points and 14 rebounds for his SSAC-leading 17th double-double. Jasmine also scored 15 points and Parker came off of the bench with 13 points.
The Eagles shot 25-of-55 (45.5%) from the floor and 9-of-25 (36%) from three-point range. Individually, they were led by Nick Drake's game-high 20 points.
The Wolf Pack finish the season at 19-14 overall and 10-8 in conference play. Next season Loyola will return all five starters from this year, including all-conference honorees Griffin (First Team), Parker (Second Team) and Jasmine (All-Freshman Team).
