Box Score The Wolf Pack won Thursday's NAIA Top-10 matchup to improve to 4-0 on the season
NEW ORLEANS – The Devlin Fieldhouse played host to a huge early-season matchup between two NAIA Top-10 teams Thursday, as the No. 5-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team took on No. 6 LSU Shreveport. Loyola came out on top 87-79 to remain undefeated in 2021-22 at 4-0.
The Top-10 showdown lived up to the hype early, as neither team was able to build a big lead until late in the first half, and Loyola started the game with a bang as Brandon Davis found Zach Wrightsil for a slam dunk and the game's first points.
Another dunk from Myles Burns after the first media timeout gave the Pack a 19-13 early lead, but the Pilots went on their first big run of the game, scoring 12-straight to seize the lead at 25-19 at the 7:53 mark of the first half. Loyola then went on a run of their own, out-scoring the visitors 24-6 over the next five minutes, and back-to-back threes from Andrew Fava prompted LSU Shreveport to call timeout with just over two minutes remaining in the opening period.
The Wolf Pack held a 44-36 advantage after the first 20 minutes, led by Fava's 16 points.
Brandon Davis scored the first second-half points for the Pack on a three-pointer, and he would have a huge performance in the period, scoring 19 of his 24 points in the latter 20 minutes.
The Pilots tied the game at 48-48 at the 16:26 mark of the second half, but they failed to claim the lead at any point as Loyola regained momentum. Another big run, featuring triples from Davis, Wrightsil, and Fava, led to another Pilot timeout as the home team led 65-55 with 11:15 to go.
The Wolf Pack lead grew to as many as 14 points in the second half, and the home side made enough free throws in the last few minutes to seal the win.
The Loyola men will face the University of New Orleans in an exhibition on Saturday at 3 p.m. before taking a break, returning for a road game against Spring Hill College at 7 p.m. on November 16.
Pack Facts
Brandon Davis scored 24 points, including 19 in the second half, after going 8-for-13 from the field and 3-for-6 from the three-point line.
Davis also dished out a team-high seven assists, which is a season high.
Andrew Fava finished with 22 points (6-11 FG, 5-9 3pt FG) after having 16 in the first half. It's the second game this season in which he's hit five triples.
Zach Wrightsil went 6-for-9 from the floor and made his only trey for 17 points. He also had six rebounds, a steal and two blocks.
Myles Burns didn't reach double figures in scoring but he did lead the team with 11 rebounds and had four dimes. His three steals were also a game high.
As a team, Loyola knocked down 12 three-pointers, which was the team's highest total since January 8 of this year when the team hit 12 against Blue Mountain.
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