Box Score Parker paces Loyola with 16 points in the victory. Wolf Pack are now 15-8 overall and 8-6 in the SSAC following Saturday.
Coming off a 74-77 defeat at the hands of No. 4 Dalton State College on Thursday night, the Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team headed to Cochran, Georgia on Saturday afternoon to square off against Middle Georgia State University in a Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) showdown.
The Wolf Pack (15-8, 8-6 SSAC) proved too much for the Knights on Saturday evening as Loyola held the lead for all but five minutes en route to the 66-57 victory inside the Morris Gym.
Nick Parker (JR/Port Allen, La.)'s team-high 16 points led four Wolf Pack players in double figures. Ethan Turner (SO/Covington, La) chipped in 14 points while grabbing a career-high seven rebounds and Nate Pierre (SR/Folsom, La.) and Jalen Gray (SR/New Orleans, La.) both contributed 10 points in the victory. Johnny Griffin Jr. (SR/Chicago, IL.) snatched a game-high 14 boards in 35 minutes while Gray paced the Wolf Pack attack with a game-high eight helpers.
Loyola shot 23-of-60 (38%) from the field and connected on 5-of-9 (63%) shots from beyond the arc. The visitors out-rebounded Middle Georgia 48-45 and handed out 14 assists compared to just eight by the Knights.
The first half saw both teams battle to three ties and with the score knotted at 25-25, Turner knocked down a three pointer to put the Wolf Pack up 28-25 with 3:14 to play in the opening frame. Loyola managed to build its advantage to as many as seven points down the stretch before a triple by Middle Georgia's Kevin Ford with one second left brought the first half score to 35-31 in favor of the visiting team.
The Wolf Pack refused to relinquish the lead in the second half despite the Knights' best efforts to get back into the game. Up 61-57 with 47 seconds to play, Loyola closed out the game by hitting five free throws to take the 66-57 victory on the road.
Loyola returns home on Saturday, Feb. 11, to welcome SSAC foe (RV) Faulkner University to First NBC Court for a game scheduled to start at 4:00 p.m.
