Box Score For the first time this season, the Wolf Pack drop back-to-back games with Thursday night's loss.
The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team returned from a season-long 4-game road trip to welcome the No. 24 William Carey Crusaders to First NBC Court on Thursday night.
Loyola hoped to put the 89-79 defeat against the Martin Methodist on Monday night behind them and make a push to claim the fourth spot in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) standings.
The Wolf Pack were unable to overcome 14 points and 13 rebounds by Terrence Mujahid and were defeated by the Crusaders 80-72 on Thursday night.
The loss brings Loyola to 12-6 overall and 5-4 in conference games.
The ball game was knotted at 4-4 in the first two minutes of play, until a layup by Nate Pierre (SR/Folsom, La.) off the feed from Johnny Griffin Jr. (SR/Chicago, IL.) gave the Wolf Pack the early advantage at 6-4 at the 17:31 mark in the opening half.
Loyola took its largest lead of the contest over the next two minutes, after a one-handed flush by Griffin Jr. off the feed from Jalen Gray (SR/New Orleans, La.) brought the score to 10-7.
The game was all tied at 16-16 until a 13-3 run by the visiting team gave the Wolf Pack a 10-point deficit (29-19) to overcome with 5:32 to go before the half.
Loyola climbed within five points of the Crusaders until a three pointer by Troy Salvant put the visiting team up 38-30 heading into the locker room.
The home team shot 12-of-28 (42.9%) in the opening frame but were outrebounded 27-20 on the glass. The Wolf Pack was also scoreless from downtown, going 0-5 from distance in the first 20 minutes of play.
Ethan Turner (SO/Covington, La) scored Loyola's first points from beyond the arc at the 18:17 mark of the second half to bring his team to within four (36-40).
A layup by Gray would narrow the deficit even further, 40-38, on the ensuing possession by the Wolf Pack.
The Road squad quickly responded with an 11-2 run to push the score to 51-40 with 14:35 to go in the contest.
Over the next six minutes, the Crusaders pushed the lead to 14, 68-54, until a 12-5 spurt by the home team brought the score to 73-66 with 5:47 to play.
William Carey followed with a 7-2 run of its own to put the game out of reach, leading to the team's eventual 80-72 victory.
For the first time this season, the Wolf Pack was unable to respond to a loss with a victory as they drop back-to-back conference games.
Loyola shot 22-of-56 from the floor (39.3%) and 5-of-16 (31.3% ) from the three-point line. Griffin Jr. led the way for his team with 15 points and 13 boards. Gray,Tre'Von Jasmine (SO/Edgard, La.) and Eric Brown (SO/Homer, La.) each chipped in 13 points in the losing effort.
The Wolf Pack will look to end the two-game losing skid with a matchup against Blue Mountain College on Jan. 21. Tip-off for Saturday's matchup is set for 4:00 p.m. from First NBC Court.
