Box Score The Wolf Pack host Blue Mountain on Saturday at 4 p.m. for senior day.
NEW ORLEANS - The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team fell 76-62 to No. 14 William Carey on Thursday night in The Den.
After the Wolf Pack (14-12, 10-6) took the game in Hattiesburg earlier in the season 75-67, the Crusaders (21-5, 14-3) tied the regular season series 1-1 with the win tonight.
Trey LaForge (SO/New Orleans, La.) drove in for a layup to get the Pack on the scoreboard, tying the game at 2-2. Terry Smith Jr. (FR/Chicago, Ill.) sunk the next bucket for Loyola, grabbing an offensive rebound and converting a putback layup to make the score 6-4 with 16:52 on the clock in the first half.
The Pack were then outscored 10-1 over the next seven minutes as the Crusaders increased their lead to 16-5 with just under 10 minutes left in the half.
William Carey's lead would be cut down to seven points at 21-14, after a Benjamin Fields (SR/Bernice, La.) hustle play where he rebounded his own miss to get a second-chance layup. The Crusaders, however, would hold at least a seven point lead for the rest of the half, extending their lead to 37-21 at the break.
The Wolf Pack would fight back in the second half, down 66-49 with 3:54 left in the game, Tre'Von Jasmine (JR/Edgard, La.) hit a three-pointer while Josh Leaney (FR/Brisbane, Australia) was fouled away from the ball. Leaney knocked down two free throws to complete the rare five-point play, then Nick Parker (SR/Port Allen, La.) made two straight layups, as Loyola cut the deficit to 11 points, trailing 69-58 with 1:07 left in the game.
With the Pack forced to foul in order to stop the clock with a minute left, the Crusaders were able to convert on most of their late free throw attempts, sealing the 76-62 victory.
Parker led the team in scoring with 17 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half comeback effort. Fields notched his sixth double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in just 18 minutes on the court.
The Crusaders were led by Troy Salvant, who scored 18 points off the bench. John Cornish was next with 15 points, followed by Jaylen Moore with 12 and a team-high nine boards.
The Wolf Pack will close out the regular season against Blue Mountain College this Saturday, February 24th, for the senior day game beginning at 4 p.m. in The Den. Loyola's four seniors, Chase Eckholdt (SR/Mandeville, La.), Fields, Parker, and Robert White (SR/Los Angeles, Calif.) will be honored before the start of the game.
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