Box Score A career-high 24 points by Tim Cameron helps the Wolf Pack win their conference opener over the Wildcats Thursday
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack had seven players score in double figures Thursday against Bethel, including a game-high 24 points from Tim Cameron, as the Wolf Pack improves to 9-0 with a 95-91 win over the Wildcats in the conference opener.
The 9-0 start to the season matches the start of the 1942-43 Loyola team as the second-best start in school history. More importantly, Loyola is 1-0 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, and it'll host Blue Mountain College Saturday at 2 p.m. in another conference showdown.
The win also marks head coach Stacy Hollowell's 100th career win. He passed former head coach Jerry Hernandez (1991-2004) earlier this season as the third-winningest coach in Loyola history, and he now needs 27 more wins to tie Dr. Michael Giorlando (2004-14) for the second most.
With the game tied 9-9 early, Loyola pushed ahead 27-21 thanks to seven early points from Cameron. Bethel fought back to take a 30-29 lead, then extended it to 42-35 with less than three minutes left in the first half.
Loyola finished the half on a 16-5 run to take a 51-47 lead into the locker room.
The Wolf Pack never trailed in the second half, extending their lead to as much as 14, while Bethel got as close as three. A Cameron bucket with seven and a half minutes to play made it an 84-70 game, but the Wildcats scored the next 19 of 27 points to make it a 92-89 contest with 25 seconds left.
Cameron, the nation's leader in total steals (31), had five steals Thursday. His fifth and final steal came when Loyola led 93-89 with 16 seconds left, and it sealed the win for the Wolf Pack
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"I'm excited to start off conference with a win. Coach (Jeff) Britt has his guys playing tough and physical basketball. They're well-coached and they execute, so this was a nice test for our guys. It'll give us a chance to see that there's still plenty for us to work on. It's nice to see seven guys in double figures, but I'd like to see us defending better than we are now."
Pack Facts
Tim Cameron entered Thursday night with a nation-leading 26 steals, and he added five more Thursday night to bring his total to 31.
Cameron also had a career-high 24 points in the contest.
Seven players recorded double-digit points against Bethel, as Cameron (24), Zach Wrightsil (17), Zach Muller (12), Matt Maturah (11), Terry Smith Jr. (10), Tensley Aldridge (10) and Myles Burns (10) all had good outings.
Thursday was Wrightsil's fifth straight game with at least a double-double. He had 10 rebounds to go along with his 17 points.
The Wolf Pack shot 52.9 percent from the field, which was the second-best mark of the season. They previously shot 60.9 percent against Carver College, and that was when Loyola recorded a program-high 143 points.
Loyola's 9-0 record matches the 1942-43 team for the second-best start in school history. Loyola's best start came during the 1928-29 season, which was a 10-0 start.
The win Thursday gave Stacy Hollowell his 100th career win.
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