Box Score Nick Parker (JR/Port Allen, La.), Jalen Gray (SR/New Orleans, La.) and Tre'Von Jasmine (SO/Edgard, La.) combined for 57 points in the Wolf Pack's dominating win over Bethel University. Loyola has now won four straight heading into the final stretch of the season.
Coming into Saturday's matchup against Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) foe Bethel University, the Loyola University men's basketball team carried the momentum of a three-game winning streak into First NBC Court.
The Wolf Pack scorched Bethel with hot shooting from Nick Parker, Jalen Gray and Tre'Von Jasmine to cruise to the 94-71 rout at home over the Wildcats. With the victory, Loyola moves to 18-8 overall and 11-6 in SSAC games this season.
Gray got things rolling for Loyola early on as the senior sliced through the Bethel defense and converted the reverse layup to record the game's first points at 2-0 just under a minute into the ballgame.
Wildcat's Scott Justice answered back with a deep three pointer off the handoff to quickly put his team on top 3-2 on the ensuing possession.
That would be the visiting team's only lead of the game, as the combination of Jasmine, Parker and Gray rattled off 16-straight points to give the Wolf Pack the 18-5 advantage with 14:22 to play in the opening half.
A bucket by Zack Fitzgerald brought the score to 18-7 at the 14:09 mark of the half, but Parker drained a jumper from beyond the arc to put his team back on top 21-7.
Loyola increased their lead to as many as 15 (23-8) over the next 60 seconds but the Wildcats chipped into the deficit.
An 11-0 run by the visitors trimmed the lead down to just four at 23-19 with 9:47 remaining until intermission.
With the Wolf Pack holding just a three-point lead at 25-22, Parker spouted off his own 8-2 run to increase the lead to 33-24 with 5:57 to go in the opening frame.
Over the next minute of play, Jasmine knocked down two-consecutive shots from beyond the arc to put Loyola on top 39-28 at the 4:06 mark of the first half.
Another shot from long range by Parker capped off a blistering first half for the Wolf Pack, as they took the 48-34 lead into the locker rooms.
As a team, Loyola scorched the Bethel defense with 62.5% shooting (20-32) from the floor and 53.8% (7-of-13) from the three-point line.
Parker had 18 points in the first 20 minutes of play, while Jasmine and Gray added 15 and 12 points respectively in the opening frame.
The lead grew to as many as 33 for the home team before cruising to the 94-71 landslide win over conference rivals Bethel University.
The Wolf Pack shot 37-of-68 (54.4%) from the field and 12-of-27 (44.4%) from beyond the arc in the win.
Loyola saw all 11 players score in the ballgame, with Parker leading the charge with 27 points and six assists to go along with seven boards. Jasmine added 17 off the bench and Gray chipped in 13 points and six assists. Trey LaForge (FR/New Orleans, La.) added 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting for the Wolf Pack.
Loyola will face Martin Methodist in its final home game of the regular season on Feb. 20. Monday's contest is set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
