After defeating No. 6 LSU Shreveport on Thursday, the No. 5 Wolf Pack came up with another big win on Saturday against an NCAA DI opponent
NEW ORLEANS – Less than 48 hours since their win against No. 6 LSU Shreveport, the No. 5 Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team got another big win on Saturday, defeating the University of New Orleans 80-72 at Lakefront Arena in an exhibition game.
While the game's results do not count in the official standings, Loyola (4-0) has secured several important victories early in the season, including the LSU-S home win, road games against rivals Xavier and Dillard, and now a victory against an NCAA Division I program.
Back-to-back baskets from Zach Wrightsil opened the scoring on Saturday as Loyola took an early lead, but the Privateers had control of the game for a majority of the first half, building a 26-11 advantage by the 7-minute mark. The Wolf Pack then scored 19-straight points to retake the lead at 30-26.
New Orleans would cling to a one-point advantage at halftime, 35-34.
Loyola, however, would seize the lead early in the second half, and the Pack held a lead for almost 18 of the 20 minutes in the period. With three minutes left, the Privateers cut their deficit to just two points at 70-68, but the Wolf Pack closed out the game with a 10-4 scoring run, which featured layups from Wrightsil and Brandon Davis and clutch free throws from Wrightsil and Myles Burns.
After a week of tough contests, no more games appear on the Wolf Pack schedule until November 16, when Loyola will travel to Mobile, Ala. for a game against Spring Hill College at 7 p.m.
Pack Facts
This is the second victory over an NCAA DI opponent for Myles Burns, Zach Wrightsil, Cameron Dumas, Josh Leaney, and Terry Smith Jr., all of whom were a part of the Wolf Pack's 79-78 victory over McNeese State in an exhibition on Nov. 16, 2018.
This is also the third win for Loyola head coach Stacy Hollowell over a DI program, as he also coached the team to a win against Southern University on December 10, 2016.
Wrightsil scored 26 points on Saturday to go along with 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a clutch block in the final minutes.
Loyola won the rebounding battle 39-31 while grabbing 19 offensive rebounds, including six from Wrightsil. Because of the rebounding, Loyola held the advantage in second-chance points 23-3.
Myles Burns was second on the team with 18 points, seven rebounds, a game-high six steals, and a block.
As a team, Loyola caused 17 steals compared to just four for the Privateers. The Wolf Pack also out-scored UNO 30-12 in points off turnovers.
Contributing everywhere in the box score, Brandon Davis finished with 11 points, seven boards, four steals, and a team-high five assists.
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