Box Score The second-ranked Wolf Pack used a 69-point first half to pull away from Baptist Bible College in the opening day of the Battle at the Beach tournament Monday
PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The No. 2 Loyola Wolf Pack moved to 8-0 overall Monday in the opening day of the Battle of the Beach tournament in Panama City, Florida, defeating Baptist Bible College 108-75. Loyola and the seven other teams in the tournament will start bracket play Tuesday, as the Wolf Pack and LSU Alexandria will play in the first round of the Gulf Bracket. Tip-off is scheduled for noon.
The Wolf Pack used 10 3-pointers in the first half to take a 26-point lead at the break, and Andrew Fava and Brandon Davis led that charge with three each of those long-range shots. Davis got the first one to fall a little over four minutes into the game, then Fava quickly answered with a 3-pointer for himself 20 seconds later to give Loyola a 16-7 lead. Myles Burns' first and only 3-point shot of the half at the 8:28 mark put the Pack up 33-22, and Milan Mejia and Davis went back-to-back to push the score to 39-27.
The 3s kept falling for the Wolf Pack, too, as Fava and Zach Muller each made 3s in a 35-second span, 55-25, and Davis and Leonard Jackson made consecutive 3s a couple of minutes later, 65-40. Zach Wrightsil, who nearly had a double-double in the first half with 15 points and seven rebounds scored the final basket of the high-scoring first 20 minutes to go into the locker room up 69-43.
After nine steals and 12 points off turnovers in the first half, the Wolf Pack continued to keep up the pressure on the defensive end of the floor in the second half. They notched 10 more steals in the second 20 minutes of the game and scored 12 more points off turnovers to hold a 30-point lead for the rest of the game. Overall, the Pack had 14 different players score and set new season-bests with 14 3-pointers and 19 steals to dominate the contest.
Pack Facts
The Wolf Pack's 108 points were the most ever scored in a game at the Battle at the Beach.
Zach Wrightsil was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, with a stat line of 17 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Brandon Davis led the way in scoring. Davis had a game-high 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field, 3-of-4 from deep. He also stole the ball five times.
It was Andrew Fava, however, who led the team in steals with six takeaways in the contest. Fava also hit three shots from deep, scoring 11 points in total.
Overall, Loyola made 14 three-pointers, which marks a season-high. Milan Mejia was the third Wolf Pack player to hit three triples, while Leonard Jackson added two more while scoring eight points, a personal best.
This is the fifth game this season in which the Wolf Pack have hit at least 10 three-pointers.
Monday's game also saw Loyola collect 19 steals for the third time this season. The No. 1 team in the NAIA in steals per game this season at 14.5 a game, the Wolf Pack have stolen the ball at least 10 times in all but one game thus far.
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