Box Score The 22nd-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack withstood a Middle Georgia State comeback late to win in The Den for the last time this season
NEW ORLEANS – The No. 22 Loyola Wolf Pack led for nearly the entire game Saturday against Middle Georgia State, but they needed a strong finish to earn a 93-87 win over the Knights.
Loyola is now 20-8 overall this season and 10-6 in Southern States Athletic Conference play.
Neither team could grab much of a lead in the early going, as Middle Georgia State and Loyola shared the lead three times until Loyola took the lead for good, 15-13. Eddie Burgess helped keep the Pack in the game with nine points through the first 12 minutes. With an 18-17 lead, Loyola went on a 10-0 run that spanned two and a half minutes and it extended the score to 28-17 with eight minutes to play. Tensley Aldridge and Matt Maturah nailed 3-pointers during that run, and Myles Burns and Terry Smith Jr. each contributed as well.
Another Maturah 3 with four minutes left helped maintain a double-digit lead, 36-23, but Middle Georgia State finished the first half on a 13-3 run to cut the Pack's advantage to 39-36 at the break.
The Knights stayed close to the Wolf Pack early in the second half, cutting it to a 51-48 Loyola lead five minutes into the half. Burns had two highlight dunks in the next couple of minutes of game time, finishing a driving dunk hard and slamming home an alley-oop from Zach Wrightsil to take a 66-55 lead.
Maturah continued to make 3s, making two in a 30-second span with 10 minutes to play. That gave Loyola a 74-59 lead.
Middle Georgia State made it interesting with two minutes to play, though, cutting the Wolf Pack lead to nine. Burgess picked up an offensive rebound and a put-back to push the score to 90-79, but the Knights trimmed the lead to five after two 3-pointers. Tim Cameron hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to give the Wolf Pack enough cushion.
Loyola's final two games of the regular season are on the road with a trip to Bethel due up first at 7:30 p.m. Thursday before a road game at Blue Mountain College next Saturday at 2 p.m.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"We did a nice job of sharing the ball today and we had a nice balance of inside and outside play. It was great to see Eddie Burgess establish himself inside, and the guys did a nice job finding him."
Pack Facts
Eddie Burgess tallied a team-high 20 points to lead the Pack for the first time this season. It's also a career-high for the freshman.
Myles Burns earned his second straight double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. He now has eight double-doubles for the season.
Zach Wrightsil had nine assists Saturday, which is the most of the sophomore since Nov. 15, 2019. He now has 124 for the season, and he's sixth in the record books for assists in a single-season. He recorded 143 assists as a freshman, so he owns two spots in the Top 10.
The Wolf Pack had five players score in double figures. Joining Burgess and Burns in double figures are Matt Maturah (16), Terry Smith Jr. (14) and Tim Cameron (12).
Saturday's win gives Loyola its 20th win on the season, which marks the third time in the last four years the program has reached that milestone.
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