Box Score The Wolf Pack collected 21 steals and led the entire second half en route to their 14th win of the season
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team emerged victorious, 89-79, in its annual showdown with Jesuit rival Spring Hill College Wednesday night in The Den.
The Wolf Pack (14-4) started the game with a lead on three free throws from Matt Maturah, but the Badgers had complete control early on, building a 16-7 lead by the first media timeout with eight minutes gone in the first half. Loyola put together an 18-6 run over the next five minutes, however, to retake the lead. The run included three steals by Myles Burns, and started and ended with three-point makes from Andrew Stagni, who would have four 3s on the night.
Never trailing for the remainder of the half, the Pack would take a 39-34 lead into halftime.
Loyola also never surrendered the lead in the second half, extending their advantage to double figures by the 15-minute mark with a putback layup from Terry Smith Jr. and a corner 3 for Josh Leaney, prompting a timeout from the visitors.
Burns added three more steals in the opening four minutes, and was a part of several highlight plays, including an alley-oop slam thrown off the glass by Tim Cameron.
Josh Leaney gave the Wolf Pack its largest lead of the night on a triple from the top of the arc, making the score 82-65. Loyola would hold on until the final buzzer, with free throws from Andrew Stagni and Matt Maturah icing the game.
Loyola returns to SSAC play Saturday with a home date against Martin Methodist at 2 p.m. The contest is part of Loyola's Hall of Fame weekend, as the 2020 inductees will be introduced at halftime.
Pack Facts
As a team, Loyola forced 21 steals against Spring Hill, which is the second-most this season. The Wolf Pack forced 23 and 21 in two prior games this season.
Myles Burns earned a new career-high in steals with nine in the contest, which is the most any NAIA player in a game this season. He now has 47 on the season, and that's good for the third-most in the NAIA. Burns also moves up to eighth place in the Loyola record book with 132 career steals.
Tim Cameron added two steals, giving him 46 this season. Both Burns and Cameron rank in the Top 4 in the NAIA for total steals.
Staying on the subject, Zach Wrightsil's four steals is a season-high, as well as Andrew Stagni's three. Josh Leaney had two steals, which is also a career-high.
Stagni's 14 points are the most the freshman has scored since he dropped 15 at Dillard in November.
Terry Smith Jr. finished with 14 points, and he's now scored in double figures in 19 straight games dating back to last season.
Semaj Flugence scored eight points for a new career-high.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
