Box Score The Wolf Pack made a strong push in the second half, but they dropped their first game of the season Tuesday in Hattiesburg
HATTIESBURG, Miss – The No. 9 Loyola Wolf Pack nearly erased William Carey's 21-point first-half lead Tuesday in Hattiesburg, but a strong second-half push wasn't enough and the Wolf Pack suffered their first loss of the season to William Carey, 76-69.
Loyola moves to 7-1 overall and 2-1 in Southern States Athletic Conference play after the loss. As of now, the Wolf Pack is back on the court next week for a road game at Mobile Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
It was a slow start for both teams with only two made shots each through the first four minutes of game time. Zach Wrightsil scored first then Tim Cameron hit a 3-pointer, but William Carey led 7-5. A pair of 3-pointers kept Loyola close, as Andrew Fava tied the game at 9 and Matt Maturah's 3-pointer cut WCU's lead to 14-12 with 13 minutes left in the half. The Crusaders, however, went on a 25-6 run over the next 10-plus minutes to extend their lead to 39-18.
Loyola made a quick push in the final minutes of the first half, though. Fava drilled a 3-pointer, Cameron made a shot and a free throw, and Wrightsil made two free throws to close the half trailing 43-26.
Loyola started the second half with five quick points, highlighted by a 3 from Fava, then less than seven minutes into the half Wrightsil brought the game to within 10 points, 47-37. William Carey kept its lead in double-figures for the next five minutes, but Zach Muller made two free throws to bring it back to within 10, 54-44, with 8:32 left.
Myles Burns and Wrightsil did their best to complete the comeback with the next 11 Loyola points, as Burns scored four points in less than a minute to cut Carey's lead to 57-48 and Wrightsil laid one in with seven minutes left to cut WCU's lead to 57-51. Burns then had back-to-back dunks with the latter coming after the two-time SSAC Defensive Player of the Year picked up a steal. That cut the deficit to 57-55 with 6:30 to play, and a 3-pointer by Cameron a minute later gave Loyola its first lead of the game, 58-57.
William Carey, though, finished the game on a 19-11 run to earn the win.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"After our last game with William Carey, I said that I felt like our rebounding margin would propel them and that the next time we played I felt like we would see an improved group. We were dominated on the glass in the first half and we didn't share the ball on offense like we have in our first seven games. In the second half, our guys showed some resilience and defended with great energy. We were able to make a nice run to take the lead but they had some big possessions late that tipped the game in their favor."
Pack Facts
Both Myles Burns and Zach Wrightsil moved up in the record books Tuesday for career rebounds, each moving up a spot to 6th and 7th all-time, respectively. Burns pulled down 10 boards against Carey, bringing his total to 628, while Wrightsil now has 626 for his career after notching nine Tuesday.
Tim Cameron pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds and scored 17 points for his first double-double of the season and the fourth of his career. His four steals Tuesday was also a season-high.
Burns also recorded his fourth double-double of the season, and the 30th of his career, with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. He nearly got a triple-double with seven steals, which was a season-high for the junior. His career-high of nine steals in a game came last season.
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