Box Score The Wolf Pack and the Bleu Devils go back-and-forth down the stretch, as Loyola remains undefeated on the season.
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack needed overtime to pull out the win over the Dillard Bleu Devils Monday, ending the night with a 110-108 nail-biter to move their record to 5-0 on the season.
Zach Wrightsil filled up the stat sheet with his first career triple-double, as he finished with 27 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
The Wolf Pack started the game slow, as the Bleu Devils held the lead for the first 17 and a half minutes of the game. Dillard began the game with a 6-0 lead, then continued to lead until Loyola tied the game at 11-11. The Wolf Pack, again, tied the game at 22-all, but Loyola still never led until the 2:20 mark when Loyola grabbed a 41-39 advantage on the scoreboard.
A combination of Tim Cameron, Terry Smith Jr. and Andrew Fava pushed Loyola out to a 51-41 lead at the break.
Coming out of the locker room, the Wolf Pack built an 18-point advantage quickly, prompting a Dillard timeout. The Blue Devils began to make a comeback, cutting the lead to single-digits, 69-61, with less than 12 minutes to play.
With seven minutes to go, Dillard tied the game for the first time in the second half at 78-78, then took its first lead with five minutes to go. Loyola, however, regained the lead down the stretch, thanks to a couple of free throws by Cameron.
Dillard forced overtime with a steal and a shot at the buzzer to make it a 94-94 game.
In overtime and leading by one, Fava drained a 3-pointer to take a 107-103 lead, then the Wolf Pack held on for the one-point win.
Loyola has a quick turnaround, as it travels to Southern University New Orleans Tuesday for a 7 p.m. game. It's the second time the two crosstown rivals have played this season, as the Wolf Pack won the first matchup 96-74 in October.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"It was nice to get a victory over a super talented Dillard team. The game was back and forth and we were able to open up with a lead right before halftime. We came out to start the half defending with good momentum, and we had a couple of personnel mistakes that sent them on a run. I think our guys wanted a timeout, but I felt like the conditioning we put in would carry us through. We had foul trouble, had four guys out sick, and Myles out with an ankle.
"We had great individual performances. Zach Wrightsil deserves congratulations on his triple-double, Tim Cameron was an absolute stat-stuffer, and we got some great minutes from our freshmen."
Pack Facts
Zach Wrightsil notched his first career triple-double, putting up 27 points, 12 rebounds (five offensive), and 11 assists, all of which were team highs.
Tim Cameron "stuffed the stat sheet" with 22 points, seven assists, seven rebounds, and six steals.
With 11 takeaways Monday night, the Wolf Pack has logged double-digit steal numbers in every game so far this season.
Five players scored in double figures for the Pack, with Wrightsil, Andrew Fava (22), Cameron, Terry Smith Jr. (14), and Zach Muller (13) all maintaining their double-digit season scoring averages.
This is the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Wolf Pack have started 5-0.
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