Box Score Zach Wrightsil hit two free throws in the final seconds to help Loyola earn a Top 20 road win
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The eighth-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack had to hold on late, but they earned the 83-81 win over the No. 17 Stillman College Tigers Thursday. The win marks second Top 25 win of the season for the Wolf Pack after defeating Xavier in December.
The loss was the first conference loss of the season for the Tigers, as Loyola and two other teams join Stillman at 4-1 in first place in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings. Loyola is now 13-3 overall.
Neither team could find separation early in the game, as both teams stayed within three points of each other through the first 10 minutes. Each team had moments when it led, but it wasn't until Loyola grabbed a 24-19 lead that either team had an advantage that was more than one possession.
The Tigers stayed close, and even tied the game once, but Loyola led until Stillman tied the game in the final minute of the second half. When Stillman evened the game at 27-27, field goals by Zach Wrightsil and Terry Smith Jr. helped push ahead 32-27. The Tigers scored the next four points to cut it to a one-point game, but the Wolf Pack went on a 10-0 run to extend the advantage to 42-31. Tim Cameron scored five of those 10 points, while Andrew Stagni and Myles Burns helped with made shots as well.
Loyola went into the locker room with a 42-35 lead.
The Wolf Pack quickly extended their lead to 48-37 in the first two minutes of the second half, then 54-41 three minutes later. Smith Jr. had four points during that early stretch for Loyola, and Matt Maturah and Cameron had 3-pointers.
Loyola's largest lead came at the 12:18 mark when it led 59-44. Stillman, however, began to chip away at Loyola's lead, and it eventually shrunk to 70-66 with less than three minutes to go. Josh Leaney hit a big 3-pointer, but the Tigers continued to cut into the score. They tied the game 81-81 with less than a minute to play, but Wrightsil hit two clutch free throws in the final seconds to earn the win.
Loyola is set to play at the University of Mobile (5-8, 1-4 in SSAC) on the road Saturday at 2 p.m.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacey Hollowell
"We came out with great energy in the first half, had some really nice transition plays, executed offensively, and defended well enough to sustain some of the runs they made. I thought we did a really nice job on the glass early and held them to one shot on most of their first half possessions. We had some late game foul trouble and held on for the win. Zach Wrightsil went to the line with 8 seconds left and hit two big free throws to seal the game."
Pack Facts
As a team, Loyola shot 55.5 percent from both the field (30-for-54) and 3-point line (10-for-18), and that marks the highest 3-point percentage of the season and the second highest field goal percentage.
Myles Burns had a game-high 19 points, and it was the fourth time this season he's reached that figure.
Josh Leaney was 2-for-3 from behind the 3-point line Thursday, and he's now 5-for-7 from 3 on the season. He had not attempted a 3-pointer before last Saturday's game against Middle Georgia State.
After totaling eight rebounds against Stillman, Terry Smith Jr. moved up to eighth in the Loyola record books for career rebounds with 564.
Tim Cameron had 15 points and five assists Thursday, and it was the 11th game with at least that many points and eighth game with at least that amount of assists.
