Box Score Wolf Pack move to 3-1 at home this season with victory over NCAA Division II Spring Hill College
NEW ORLEANS - The Loyola men's basketball team came out on top of a competitive game with Spring Hill College, taking the win 56-51 in The Den on Friday night.
The visiting Badgers (2-5) came out and claimed an early lead just over two minutes into the contest, which they held onto until the 10 minute mark. A field goal by Ethan Turner put the Wolf Pack (6-4) on top, but the teams would trade scores the next few minutes before Nick Parker hit a three to make it 21-17 Loyola. Fueled by a 7-0 run, the Pack claimed a halftime lead of 31-25.
Each team opened the half trading points, until Parker and Benjamin Fields scored on consecutive possessions to put the Wolf Pack up eight. The Loyola defense would help maintain that lead by keeping Spring Hill off the scoreboard for six minutes, until a free throw ended that drought with 11:37 left on the clock in the second half.
With about 10 minutes remaining in the game, Turner connected from beyond the arc to extend Loyola's lead to a game-high nine points at 43-34. The two teams would remain in a battle as the game went on, with the Pack holding the edge. However, as the clock hit the minute mark, Spring Hill hit a layup to pull within two, 53-51.
With 10.3 seconds remaining, the Badgers fouled Chase Eckholdt to stop the clock. The senior converted his first shot from the foul line before missing his second, extending the home team's lead to three, 54-51.
At three seconds remaining on the game clock, the Badgers put up a potentially game-tying three, but couldn't connect with Turner picking up the rebound. Following a foul by Spring Hill to stop the clock, the junior from Covington, La., nailed each free throw to bring the final tally to 56-51 in favor of the Pack.
The Badgers had a slight advantage in shooting percentage, hitting 21 of their 49 attempts for 42.9% compared to 19-53 for 35.8% for the Wolf Pack. However, Loyola hit five of its 14 three-pointers compared to just one make on 15 attempts for Spring Hill. The home team also won the turnover battle, with Spring Hill turning the ball over 27 times compared to just 16 for Loyola.
Parker led the Pack with 15 points off the bench to go along with three steals, while Turner added 10.
The Badgers were led by William Loyd who tallied 17 points on 7-9 (78%) shooting, with Walter Massey collecting 10 rebounds.
The Wolf Pack will be back in action next weekend at home, hosting Xavier in The Den at 7 p.m. on Saturday December 16th.
