Box Score The Wildcats hit game-winning free throws just before the final buzzer
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team dropped a close one on homecoming at The Den late Thursday night, falling 78-77 to No. 19 Bethel.
The Wildcats (21-6, 15-4 SSAC) scored a quick five points on a layup and a triple to open the game, which Myles Burns answered with a make from the top of the arc to get the Wolf Pack (15-11, 10-9 SSAC) on the board. After another trey from Bethel, the Pack went on a tear, scoring 17 unanswered points to take a 20-8 lead just before the game's first 12-minute timeout.
Bethel then went on a run of their own, scoring seven-straight points while decreasing their deficit. The visitors were able to tie the game at 29-all, and they took a 32-31 lead into the halftime break.
The game remained close to open the second half, with three ties coming in the opening five minutes of the period. By the 10-minute mark, however, the Wildcats would extend their lead to 10 points at 59-49. Then once again, the game's momentum changed, with the freshman duo of Burns and Zach Wrightsil outscoring Bethel 22-10 by themselves over the next eight minutes, as the Wolf Pack took a 71-69 lead with just over two minutes to play.
A combined nine ties and lead changes occurred in the final two minutes as the teams battled late. With just five seconds left, the Wolf Pack held a one-point lead after a tough putback from Burns, but Bethel would go to the free throw line with one second remaining. The Wildcats connected on two shots to go ahead 78-77, which would remain the final score at the buzzer.
Loyola hosts its final home contest of the season on Saturday, when they face Blue Mountain College at 4 p.m. for Senior Day in The Den.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"Tonight was a tough loss. Two things that stand out to me are our negative turnover-to-assist ratio and the difference in three-point field goals made. Ultimately, that was the difference in the game tonight, they hit 11 threes and we hit four, they hit shots and we didn't. I thought we did a good job defensively preventing the dribble penetration, but it wasn't enough and we came up short."
Pack Facts
Zach Wrightsil posted his SSAC-leading 12th double-double this season, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds tonight.
The freshman climbed three leaderboards in the Wolf Pack record books: moving from 17th to 14th for most points scored in a season (507), ninth to eighth for most assists in a season (105), and entered the top-10 for most rebounds in a season (214).
Myles Burns scored a team-best 27 tonight on 11-14 shooting, snagging eight boards and grabbing five steals.
Burns now has 232 rebounds this year, which ranks as the seventh-most in a single season at Loyola.
His 69 steals, a program record for most in a season, currently leads the NAIA.
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.
