Box Score The Wolf Pack will now play three straight road games before they return to The Den on Feb. 6 to play Stillman College
NEW ORLEANS – In a contest between two Top 20 teams, the sixth-ranked Dalton State Roadrunners got the better of No. 17 Loyola Wolf Pack 102-87 Monday in The Den.
The loss moves Loyola to 15-5 overall and 5-3 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, while Dalton State improves to 18-1 and 8-1 in the SSAC.
Dalton State used three 3-pointers to jump out to a quick 9-2 lead, but the Wolf Pack battled back to cut the Roadrunners' lead to 12-11 through the first five minutes of play. By the first media timeout at the 12-minute mark, Dalton State extended the lead back to 24-19. Matt Maturah hit two 3s and Terry Smith Jr. had eight points to help keep Loyola in the game.
The Roadrunners, though, went on a 13-2 run until the second media timeout at the 6-minute mark to push their lead to 37-21. Dalton State built its largest lead, 53-33, with a minute to go in the first half before going into the locker room with a 55-37 advantage.
After the first five minutes of the second half, Dalton State took its largest lead of the game, 66-45, but Loyola kept it interesting by cutting it to a 13-point game four minutes later. Maturah and Tensley Aldridge each made 3-pointers during that time, and Tim Cameron and Zach Wrightsil had made baskets as well.
Dalton State continued to answer every Loyola run, however. After extending the lead back out to 18 points, the Wolf Pack cut the Roadrunners' lead to 10 points for the first time since the 7:30 mark of the first half. Maturah made two technical foul shots and Burns made two free throws to trim Dalton State's advantage to 78-68 with seven minutes to play.
After the Roadrunners pushed ahead again, Aldridge made another 3-pointer with five minutes to play to make it an 84-72 deficit. Dalton State would hold on for the win.
Next up for the Wolf Pack is a trip to William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The game is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip on Saturday.
Pack Facts
Tim Cameron and Myles Burns each had three steals in Saturday's game, and that makes 11 steals for Cameron in the last four games while Burns has recorded 22 steals in the last six.
After breaking Loyola's single-season record for steals last season with 85, Burns' 53 so far this season is good for fifth in the single-season record books. Cameron's 52 this season puts him at sixth in program history for steals in a season.
After recording his career-high of 12 points five times this season, including the last two games, Matt Maturah earned a new personal best with 19 points against Dalton State.
Cameron notched his seventh 20-point game this season with 21 Monday.
Along with Cameron and Maturah, two other Wolf Pack players scored in double figures, as Terry Smith Jr. added 14 points and Tensley Aldridge had 10.
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.
