Box Score The Wolf Pack needed a strong second-half finish Saturday to beat Blue Mountain, moving their record to 7-0 overall
NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball remained undefeated Saturday, defeating the Blue Mountain Toppers 85-80 in The Den. It was the second matchup in as many days for the two teams, and that format will continue every weekend throughout conference play.
No. 9 Loyola is now 7-0 overall this season and 2-0 in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
The Toppers got off to a good start, leading Loyola 9-2 three minutes into the game. Andrew Fava got an early 3-pointer to drop, but the Toppers started the game by going 3-for-4 from deep to take a 17-7 lead by the 14:00 mark of the first half. Terry Smith Jr. helped keep the Pack close, scoring six early points, and a 3-pointer by Josh Tolbert cut the Toppers' lead to 19-12 at the 12-minute mark. At the first media timeout, Blue Mountain was 8-for-11 from the field while Loyola was 4-for-10, and Toppers held the 21-12 advantage.
The Wolf Pack, however, went on a 21-12 run of their own, tying the game at 33 with more than four minutes left in the half. During that run, Tolbert converted a 4-point play after making a 3-pointer and the and-1 free throw. A minute later, Wrightsil banked in a shot to cut Blue Mountain's lead to 24-20. Tim Cameron made two free throws and Luke Ladner answered a Topper 3-pointer with a 3 of his own, making it a 27-25 BMC lead.
Loyola finally tied the game at 27 by slashing through the lane with eight and a half minutes left in the half, then the two teams played the rest of the half with eight ties and three lead changes, as the Pack went into the break with a 45-43 lead. Eddie Burgess, Matt Maturah and Ladner were big for Loyola in the final minutes of the half, each answering BMC scores.
Loyola had its biggest lead of the first half in the final seconds, extending the score to 45-40 after technical foul free throws, but a Topper 3-pointer at the buzzer made it a 2-point game.
The game stayed tight in the second half with seven ties and six lead changes through the first 13 minutes of play. Fava started the half with a 3, then Burns and Zach Muller each had four points to help the Pack take a 59-55 lead with 12 minutes left. As the two teams continued to trade the lead, Wrightsil scored eight points in a three-minute span to keep Loyola ahead. Once Wrightsil scored with 6:32 left, Loyola never relinquished the lead.
The Toppers didn't quit, though, cutting Loyola's lead to 76-74 with their eighth 3-pointer of the game. BMC was whistled for its third technical foul of the game, however, and Ladner knocked down both free throws, plus another free throw from Wrightsil gave the Pack a two-possession lead. The Toppers, again, cut it to 3 with less than two minutes to play, but free throws by Ladner and a score on an in-bounds play from Burns iced the game.
Loyola will hit the road for the first time in conference play Tuesday, traveling to William Carey for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"Playing back-to-back games is going to be tough and it will be something we have to adapt to. A lot of credit goes to Blue Mountain. They showed a lot of resolve and bounced back much better than we did on the second day. They hit shots today that they didn't make (Friday), and they were way more physical today than they were yesterday."
Pack Facts
Zach Wrightsil was 9-17 from the floor to lead all scorers with 22 points. He also had five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Now with 69 career blocks, Wrightsil passed Johnny Griffin Jr. to move into eighth place on the all-time Loyola blocks list.
The Prosper, Texas native also moved into 19th place on the all-time scoring list, with 1,204 career points. With six points today and 1,195 for his career, Terry Smith Jr. moved into 20th.
Two other Loyola players hit double figures, including Luke Ladner, who was the only member of the Pack to score 10 or more points in each of the weekend's games.
Myles Burns put up 13 points and eight rebounds, while tying Tim Cameron for the game-high with three steals.
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