Box Score The fifth-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack held strong during a late William Carey run Tuesday night, defeating the Crusaders 87-79 in The Den
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team earned its 10th win of the season Tuesday, taking down the William Carey Crusaders 87-79 in The Den.
Zach Wrightsil was unstoppable in the early going, scoring the Wolf Pack's first eight points in the first 2:21 of the game. Terry Smith Jr. and Andrew Fava got on the board next, and Loyola led 16-8 after four and a half minutes of play. The Crusaders scored six of the next eight game points to make it a three-point game, but Fava made two 3-pointers, sandwiched between a Tensley Aldridge basket, to push the lead to 26-17 halfway through the first half.
Again, William Carey made another run to try and tie the game, but it could only get to within a point of Loyola with 2:29 left. Fava and Aldridge both hit 3s after that, but a William Carey 3-pointer in the final seconds brought Loyola's lead down to 44-40 by halftime.
The Wolf Pack looked ready to wrap the game up early, quickly jumping out to a 14-point lead six minutes into the second half. Zach Muller and Aldridge had five points each in those early minutes, while Smith added four to help Loyola extend the advantage to 62-48.
The Wolf Pack held their largest lead of 17 points with a little more than eight minutes to go when Aldridge and Fava each hit 3-pointers and Muller made four free throws. The Crusaders, however, used an 18-7 run over a four-minute span to cut the Pack's lead to 79-73.
Trailing by six with four minutes to go, William Carey had the ball but missed its shot to shrink the deficit even more. On the next Wolf Pack possession, Aldridge grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, sparking a 5-0 run which gave Loyola an 11-point advantage at the 2:49 mark, putting the game out of reach.
Loyola is back in The Den this weekend for two games with Mobile Friday and Saturday. Tip-off with the Rams on Friday is set for 7 p.m., and the two will play again Saturday at 5 p.m.
Pack Facts
With a game-high 13 rebounds, Zach Wrightsil logged his fourth double-double of the season and the 32nd of his career. His statline also included a 7-for-8 performance at the free-throw line, a game-high five assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Wrightsil's five assists gave him 325 for his career, moving him into fourth place all-time in Loyola's career assist records.
Terry Smith Jr. also notched a double-double, his third of the season and 17th of his career, putting up 15 points and 12 boards. He now has 769 rebounds for his career, which is second all-time.
Tensley Aldridge led all scorers with 18 points. He's scored at least 17 in three of his five games played this season.
Zach Muller had 16 points, a season-high. He's hit double figures twice this season.
All five starters scored at least 15, with Andrew Fava recording 16, including a 4-for-9 shooting night from 3-point range.
Fava and Aldridge hit the same number of combined 3-pointers (seven) as William Carey made for the entire game.
You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
