Box Score The 16th-ranked Wolf Pack won its third straight road game Monday, as Terry Smith Jr. scored his 1,000th career point
TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. – The No. 16 Loyola Wolf Pack traveled to Florida College Monday afternoon and they'll return home with an 83-63 win over the Falcons. The win gives Loyola its ninth conference win, as it improves to 9-5 in Southern States Athletic Conference play and 19-7 overall.
The first half featured back-and-forth play, as the two teams stayed close through the first 20 minutes. Loyola's largest lead of eight points came with less than two minutes in the half, while Florida College briefly led in the beginning. There were three ties, but the Wolf Pack led for nearly all of the first half.
The Falcons jumped up 6-0 in the first two minutes, but Terry Smith Jr., Matt Maturah and Tim Cameron quickly gave Loyola a lead with back-to-back-to-back buckets. Tensley Aldridge scored a 2-point and a 3-point shot in less than 20 seconds to extend the lead to 12-9, then two free throws by Aldridge put the Wolf Pack back on top, 21-19, after Florida College tied it at 19.
Zach Wrightsil scored nine points in the final 10:27 of the first half to help give Loyola a 42-35 lead at the break.
After holding a single-digit lead in the first half, Loyola scored the first 11 points of the second half to make it an 18-point game, then pushed the advantage to 21 with another Wrightsil bucket. Five different Loyola players scored during the 18-4 run in the first six minutes of the half, too.
Florida College could only get to within 13 points of the Wolf Pack, as Loyola's largest lead of the game came when Myles Burns made it an 80-55 score with four and a half minutes to go. Smith Jr. scored five of his 16 points in a 40-second span midway through the second, then Aldridge, again, hit back-to-back shots in less than a minute to keep the Falcons at-bay.
The Wolf Pack will host Faulkner University and Middle Georgia State this week in The Den. Loyola will unveil its 2019 SSAC Tournament Championships banner when Faulkner comes for the 7:30 p.m. contest Thursday, and the Knights travel to New Orleans Saturday for a 2 p.m. contest.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"This was a game we were really concerned with. Coming off a tough loss to William Carey and getting on the bus immediately to play a make-up game against a hot Florida College team that just beat William Carey handily was unsettling. Our guys responded really well, defended hard, and took care of the ball. We were able to limit their key guys and that is something we haven't done well consistently in recent games."
Pack Facts
Terry Smith Jr. needed 12 points to reach 1,000 points for his career, and he recorded 16 against Florida College to reach that milestone.
Smith Jr. pulled down nine rebounds Monday, giving him 623 for his career. That moves the junior to fifth all-time in the Loyola record book.
Tensley Aldridge had 12 points Monday, and it's the seventh time this season he's been in double figures.
Zach Wrightsil's 19 points were the most for the sophomore since he scored 21 against Martin Methodist on Jan. 18.
Tim Cameron notched a career-high with nine assists in the game.
With two steals, Myles Burns now has 70 for the season. The sophomore currently ranks second in the NAIA in that category.
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