Box Score The 16th-ranked Wolf Pack used double-doubles from Myles Burns and Zach Wrightsil to earn the team's fourth win of the season Saturday in The Den
NEW ORLEANS – The No. 16 Loyola Wolf Pack had five players in double figures Saturday against William Carey in The Den, defeating the Crusaders 79-64 in a non-conference matchup. Highlighted by Myles Burns and Zach Wrightsil, Loyola pulled away late to begin its season 4-0 for the second consecutive year.
The two teams played evenly through the first 10 minutes of play, as neither could get a lead bigger than four. A Wrightsil free throw and an Andrew Fava 3-pointer got Loyola's scoring started, then Burns, Terry Smith Jr. and Eddie Burgess got in on the action to help bring the game to an 18-18 tie.
Burgess scored seven straight points to help give Loyola a 23-22 lead, which propelled the Wolf Pack to a 14-3 run to close out the first half leading 35-26. Burns and Wrightstil combined to score nine of those 14 points, as well Matt Maturah adding a 3-pointer.
As hot as the Wolf Pack ended the first half, they started the second just as hot. Powered by two 3-pointers from Fava, Loyola went on a 13-4 run to push its lead to 48-30. Fava nailed another 3 two minutes later, and Wrightstil, Smith and Tim Cameron made back-to-back shots to make it a 57-36 game.
Loyola kept its lead at 21 when Smith converted an old-fashioned 3-point play with six and a half minutes to play, and William Carey only got to within 15 points when the Crusaders got the game's final bucket.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"First, I really appreciate William Carey coming here on short notice. With so many games being canceled, I really appreciate coach Knight's willingness to get all of our guys some basketball in. William Carey has a lot of new faces and a lot of really talented guys, so we didn't have a lot of video on their personnel. One thing we were able to compare was their rebounding numbers and our rebound numbers against Xavier. They had 16 offensive rebounds and we had six against Xavier, so that was a point of emphasis for us. I feel like our guys met that challenge. That game will set up some really good conference matchups down the road. Tim Cameron came in and gave us some really solid minutes during that stretch in the second half."
Pack Facts
Fifteen points is the largest victory for Loyola over William Carey since the Wolf Pack's 72-54 win over the Crusaders on February 24, 2011.
Myles Burns led all players with 19 points and 15 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive glass. It's his second double-double of the season and the 28th of his career.
Zach Wrightsil stuffed the stat sheet, notching a double-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and three blocks. It's his first double-double of the season and the 29th of his career.
With a 4-for-9 3-point shooting performance, Andrew Fava has hit half of his three-pointers to start the 2020-21 season, 17-34, for an average of 4.3 triples per game.
Tim Cameron had just four points, but a season-high in assists, adding seven dimes, six rebounds, and a season-high two steals.
Along with Burns, Wrightsil, and Fava, Eddie Burgess (13) and Terry Smith Jr. (12) each scored in double figures. Burgess added eight rebounds.
Twenty-seven offensive rebounds were the most by Loyola since November 8, 2019, against Southeastern Baptist.
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