Box Score The Wolf Pack suffered a tough defeat Friday night, but Loyola and Stillman will meet again on the court at 5 p.m. Saturday to finish the regular season
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team lost a heartbreaker Friday night. The Wolf Pack took a 2-point lead with less than 5 seconds remaining, but a Stillman College 3-pointer at the buzzer gave the Tigers a 74-73 win.
The loss moves Loyola to 11-4 overall and 5-4 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, but its standing in next week's SSAC tournament is already set. The Wolf Pack will play Florida College at 9:45 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25, in the first round of the tournament, but Loyola and Stillman are set for one more regular-season matchup Saturday at 5 p.m.
Loyola got off to a hot streak Friday night, jumping out to a 13-3 lead after Zach Wrightsil, Myles Burns and Andrew Fava got on the board. Myles quickly extended the lead to 16-5 a couple of minutes later, then Fava made it a 23-11 game with his second 3-pointer. Milan Mejia made a pair of free throws to give Loyola its largest lead, 27-13, and Tensley Aldridge and Fava kept Loyola up double-digits, 32-22, with six minutes left in the first half.
Stillman, however, closed the first 20 minutes on a 13-5 run to cut Loyola's lead to 37-35 at halftime.
The second half was tight throughout, as Stillman's largest lead was five compared to Loyola's four. There were also eight ties in the second with the lead changing hands 13 times.
Wrightsil scored four quick points to open the second half, giving Loyola a 41-37 lead, but Stillman quickly tied it less than a minute later. The two teams went back and forth for the next couple of minutes, but after the half's fifth tie, the Tigers jumped up 56-51 with nine minutes left.
Matt Maturah caught fire from behind the 3-point line, sinking three 3s in a three-minute span to give the Wolf Pack a 65-63 lead. Stillman tied it moments later, but Wrightsil converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to put Loyola back up 68-65. The Tigers took the advantage 69-68 after two free throws with 35 seconds left, but Terry Smith Jr. scored to put Loyola up 70-69 with 29 seconds left.
Stillman, again, retook the lead with 12 seconds left, then Wrightsil got another bucket to go and an and-1 to flip the score in Loyola's favor, 73-71, with 4 seconds on the clock. Stillman, though, got a last-second 3-pointer to fall to win the game.
Wolf Pack Head Coach Stacy Hollowell
"Loyola and Stillman's games always seem to have close endings. Both teams are really talented and play with passion and intensity. It's tough to lose a game on a buzzer-beater-3, but it was well-contested and they made a great shot. We will roll it out tomorrow and give it our best."
Pack Facts
Myles Burns led the Wolf Pack with 10 rebounds while Zach Wrightsil pulled down nine. Burns now has 684 boards for his career to rank fourth in Loyola history, and Wrightsil is third all-time with 693. Terry Smith Jr. is second in Loyola history with 792, 210 rebounds behind the all-time leader.
Burns added 16 points for his fifth double-double of the season and the 32nd of his career.
Zach Wrightsil scored a game-high 22 points, his fourth 20-point game of the season.
Matt Maturah made three 3-pointers in the second half to finish with 12 points, a new season-high.
Andrew Fava joined Burns, Maturah and Wrightsil in double-figures, shooting 4-for-8 from 3-point land to score 14 points. He also recorded three steals for the second straight game.
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