Box Score The second-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack improved their record to 13-0 this season after taking down LSU Shreveport on the road Thursday
SHREVEPORT, La. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball remains perfect after their road win at LSU Shreveport Thursday, defeating the Pilots for the second time this season, 76-69. No. 2 Loyola continues to extend its program-record winning streak to start the 2021-22 season, improving to 13-0 overall with only two exhibitions left on the schedule until the New Year.
Loyola is set to travel to two NCAA Division I opponents over the next 11 days, first taking on Southern Miss at 2 p.m. on Saturday then traveling to play at Louisiana on Monday, Dec. 20, at 7 p.m. Both contests will not count toward the Pack's record, but they're 1-0 this season in exhibitions against NCAA D1 programs after beating UNO in November.
The Wolf Pack faced some adversity early on in the game Thursday, only scoring four points through the first six and a half minutes while LSU Shreveport scored 12 during that time. An alley-oop from Zach Muller to Myles Burns sparked a Loyola run, though, scoring 21 of the game's next 23 points to put the Pack up 25-14 with eight minutes until halftime. After Zach Wrightsil and Burns scored to cut LSUS' lead to 14-10, back-to-back 3-points from Andrew Fava and Cameron Dumas put Loyola up for the first time in the contest, 16-14. The Wolf Pack's defense played a huge role during that run, too, holding the Pilots to 1-for-9 from the floor during those six minutes with four turnovers.
Loyola extended its lead to as much as 15 points, taking a 35-19 lead with four minutes to go in the opening half. Burns scored five straight points during that stretch, and Wrightsil added four consecutive points as well, but the Pilots closed the first half on a 16-4 run to cut the deficit to 39-35 at the break.
The Wolf Pack quickly pushed their advantage to double digits, 51-41, in the first couple of minutes of the second half thanks to seven points by Brandon Davis and a 3 from Zach Muller. Fava hit another 3-pointer moments later and Burns scored to keep Loyola ahead by 10, 58-48, with 13 minutes to go, and two free throws each from Terry Smith Jr. and Wrightsil made it an 11-point margin, 65-54, at the eight-minute mark.
The Pilots did make it interesting, however, cutting their deficit to 65-60 with six minutes on the clock. Wrightsil, though, hit two free throws then recorded a steal before two more free throws from Smith to keep LSUS at bay. After the home team made it a six-point game, Wrightstil grabbed an offensive rebound and scored, and Dumas and Davis iced the game with back-to-back scores in the final 90 seconds.
Pack Facts
Zach Wrightsil, who has scored in double figures in every game this season, led the way in scoring once again with 21 points
Wrightsil also tallied six rebounds and a season-high six steals. The senior now has 147 steals for his Loyola career, moving him into sixth all-time in Loyola's record book.
Four players scored in double digits, with Myles Burns (15), Cameron Dumas (13), and Brandon Davis (10) hitting that mark. For Dumas, it was his highest point total since Nov. 11, 2019, in a game against Mobile.
Including Wrightsil's six steals, Loyola stole the ball 15 times against the Pilots. Davis was second on the team with four steals.
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