Box Score Myles Burns's career-high 30 points led the Wolf Pack, who overcame a 25-point deficit to claim the home victory
NEW ORLEANS – Down by as many as 25 points in the second half, the Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team roared back to force overtime and earn a 109-100 victory over the University of the Virgin Islands Friday night in The Den.
The Wolf Pack (2-1) opened the game with a 9-3 run, capped off by Ethan Turner finding Myles Burns for an alley-oop slam. The six-point lead would be the largest of the first half for the Pack, however, as a three-point shooting barrage by the Buccaneers (0-3) turned the tide in the visitor's favor. The Virgin Islands would enter halftime with a 59-41 advantage after shooting 60% (9-15) from deep in the first half.
The hot shooting continued at the start of the second half, with the Bucs stretching their lead to 25 points at 68-43. With the Virgin Islands up 82-60 with 13 minutes left in regulation, the Wolf Pack would not allow a point over the next four minutes of play, scoring 14 unanswered to pull within eight points with eight minutes remaining.
Trailing 94-85 with less than two minutes on the clock, Loyola stepped up defensively to force four turnovers while continuing to diminish the visitors' lead. With the Pack down just two points and 19 seconds remaining, Sammis Reyes snagged the rebound on a missed free throw by the Bucs and fed the ball to Zach Wrightsil, who converted a tough inside layup to tie the game at 95-apiece, sending the game to overtime.
With the thunderous home crowd behind them, the Wolf Pack carried momentum from the second half into the extra period, scoring 13-straight points to take a 108-95 lead with a little over one minute remaining. The home team would carry the lead to the final buzzer, taking the 109-100 victory to improve to 2-1 on the season and 2-0 at home.
Loyola will be back in The Den tomorrow night, hosting University of the Virgin Islands at 8 p.m.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"Coming into this game, Virgin Islands had not shot the three well, so we talked a lot about covering the paint. However, they got off to an unbelievable start from deep and really stretched us defensively, allowing them to drive to the basket. Virgin Islands came out with great energy and got us on our heels, but our guys really turned the energy up in the last 15 minutes of regulation."
"We were fortunate to be able to make some plays and fight our way back in it and force overtime, and that momentum carried us through where we were able to steal it. I've been very excited about the fan support we've been getting, I feel like they really drove us tonight and helped raise our energy."
Pack Facts
Loyola went on a 10-1 run to end regulation and force overtime, before opening the extra period with 13 unanswered.
Myles Burns led the Pack in scoring tonight with a career-best 30 points, adding 10 rebounds for his second-career double-double in only three games played.
The freshman was a force on the defensive end as well, collecting five steals and blocking one shot.
Ethan Turner connected on four deep balls tonight, moving him into 10th for most career three-pointers made with 128.
Freshman Zach Wrightsil dropped 20 points, his second-straight game hitting the 20-mark.
Wrightsil filled up the box score once again and is now averaging 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in three games this season.
You can keep up with the Pack this season by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
