Box Score The Wolf Pack had their best shooting night of the season, going 36-54, a blazing 66.7% from the field
NEW ORLEANS – Following a second-half surge, the Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team downed Martin Methodist College 89-60 in the Hall of Fame Game Saturday afternoon in The Den.
Loyola is now 15-4 overall and 5-2 in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
After the Redhawks started the game with a 4-2 lead, Loyola ripped off 20 of 26 points to push ahead 22-10 halfway through the first half. During that stretch, the Wolf Pack had a 10-0 run where three different Loyola players contributed points.
The RedHawks (11-6, 4-3 SSAC) managed to cut the home lead to single digits at halftime, with Loyola up 43-35.
Loyola shot well in the first half, with the team making 64.0% of their baskets in the opening period. The Pack outdid itself in the following frame, making 20 of 29 shots for 69.0% while outscoring the RedHawks 46-25.
The second half was highlighted by a 15-5 run which included dunks by three different players and grew the home lead from 14 points at 54-40 to 24 points at 69-45.
The Wolf Pack would hold at least a 20-point lead for the remainder of the game, extending the advantage to as many as 31 points before the game finished.
It's a quick turnaround for the Wolf Pack, as they'll play host to the No. 6 Dalton State College at 2 p.m. on Monday.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"This was our most complete defensive performance start to finish. It was a balanced effort on the offensive end of the floor, and we've been working hard on sitting down in the stance and getting back in transition on defense. Tonight, particularly in the second half, we put together a really good performance. I'm proud of our guys and I hope we can build on this moving forward."
Pack Facts
Three players moved up in the Loyola career record book Saturday. With eight rebounds, Terry Smith Jr. now has 580 for his Loyola career and he's now seventh in the program's history. Zach Wrightsil entered the record book with six assists, bringing his career total to 221, which is good for ninth in Loyola's history. Finally, Myles Burns moved from eighth to seventh in the career steals category, as he now has 135 in less than two seasons.
Wrightsil scored 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting, and that marks his best shooting performance of the season.
Tim Cameron pulled down a career-high eight rebounds.
Loyola outscored Martin Methodist 52-24 in the paint and 18-0 in fast-break points.
Matt Maturah matched his career-high of 12 points Saturday, and it's the fifth time this season he's reached that figure.
The Wolf Pack had six players score in double figures, as Wrightsil (21), Burns (17), Cameron (13), Smith Jr. (12), Maturah (12) and Josh Leaney (11) all contributed on the scoreboard.
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