HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team took on their second of three NCAA Division I programs on Monday, traveling to Southern Miss in an exhibition contest for the Wolf Pack. After hanging tough for most of the first half, Loyola took an 86-62 loss to the Golden Eagles. 
 

Loyola, which is still 3-0 and holding the NAIA's longest winning streak of 24 straight wins, returns to action Thursday at Dalton State for both team's Southern States Athletic Conference openers. Tip-off for that matchup is set for 1 p.m.
 

Jalen Galloway, who was just named the SSAC Player of the Week on Monday, scored the first two buckets for Loyola, 4-3, then Zach Muller made it an 8-5 lead for the Wolf Pack with two made shots through the first three and a half minutes. After Southern Miss took a 12-9 lead a couple of minutes later, Alex Hammond and Galloway nodded the score at 13-all near the 13-minute mark of the first half, and Hammond made another to flip the lead in Loyola's favor, 15-14. 
 

After two minutes of no made shots, Michael Harden made a 3-pointer to give the Pack an 18-15 advantage, then Galloway followed up two Golden Eagle scores to keep the game tied, 20-20, with nine minutes until halftime. The shots continued to fall for the Wolf Pack, as Hammond and Muller kept the Pack ahead, 24-22, before the third media timeout of the half, 8:17. 
 

Andrew Stagni was able to keep the score close with a score of 27-26, then after USM scored five straight, Hammond got his eighth point to make it a 32-28 game with less than four minutes until the break. Southern Miss finished the half on a 13-4 run, though, to take a 45-32 lead into the locker room. 
 

Southern Miss continued to play well to start the second half, jumping out to a 61-38 lead through the first six minutes. Scores by Muller, Hammond, a 3-pointer from Blake Burkey and a free throw by Harden did cut the deficit to 17, 63-46, with 10 minutes to play, then Harden scored twice to keep it a 16-point game, 66-50, with eight-plus to go. Southern Miss, however, extended its lead to 25 three minutes later, cruising to its win over the Pack. 
 

Pack Facts

• Alex Hammond finished the game with 17 points and five assists. Both numbers surpassed the freshman's regular season highs. 

• Three others scored in double figures: Jalen Galloway had 11, all in the first half, while Zach Muller and Michael Harden each scored 10.

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.