PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team remains perfect on the season after Day 2 of the Battle at the Beach Classic in Panama City, Florida. Loyola needed a strong finish in Tuesday's game against Missouri Baptist to claim a 69-64 victory to win its 28th straight game for the program. 
 

Loyola (7-0) will now look forward to a matchup with No. 21 Florida College (9-1) on Wednesday. Tip-off for the final game of the tournament for both teams is set for noon. 
 

Leonard Jackson and Jalen Galloway picked up right where the Wolf Pack left off on Monday by hitting a couple of 3-pointers to start Loyola's scoring. Missouri Baptist, however, scored the next seven points to take a 10-6 lead through the first four and a half minutes of the game. The Wolf Pack answered that with a run of their own, scoring the next 10 points and holding the Spartans scoreless for more than four and a half minutes. Free throws by Galloway and Matthew Mondesir got the game tied, 10-10, then Blake Burkey scored on a put-back to put the Wolf Pack back on top, 12-10. Galloway and Mondesir each scored again, too, giving the Pack a 16-10 lead before MBU got back on the board near the halfway point of the first half. 
 

A quick 5-0 spurt for the Wolf Pack, which saw Mondesir score three points, extended the lead to 21-14, then Mondesir added another to take a 23-15 lead with seven-plus minutes to go. Missouri Baptist, though ended the first half on a 17-5 run to take a 32-28 lead at the break, as the Wolf Pack only made two field goals in the final 6:30 of the period. 
 

Mejia made the team's first 3-pointer since the opening minutes of the first half to start the scoring in the second half, then Jackson hit a long-ranged shot a few moments later to bring the deficit to 35-34 in the early going. The two teams exchanged the lead a couple of times during the next few minutes, as Zach Muller made two free throws and another 3 from Galloway, but MBU hit three 3s to jump ahead 54-49 at the nine-minute mark. 
 

Trailing 61-56 with 4:16 minutes left, Mondesir scored after a Harden picked up a steal on the other end of the floor, 61-58, then Galloway made a driving layup to cut the MBU lead to one with three minutes left. After Mondesir and Missouri Baptist traded 3s, Harden put the Wolf Pack up 65-64 with a long 2-point shot in the final minute. After the Spartan's offensive possession ended in a missed shot, the MBU bench was called for a technical, which resulted in a three-point swing for Loyola, 68-64. 
 

Jackson added a free throw in the final seconds to cap off a 15-3 run to end the game for the Wolf Pack. 
 

Pack Facts

• Matthew Mondesir, who has scored in double figures in every game this season, earned a new career high with 22 points in 26 minutes. 

• Loyola's bench outscored Missouri Baptist's bench 32-10, mainly due to Mondesir's minutes. The Wolf Pack also won the points in the paint battle 30-18. 

• Jalen Galloway also was into the double digits with 14 points.

• Michael Harden led the team with five assists and three steals. While he only had one made basket, it was an important one, as the Wolf Pack never trailed following his go-ahead stepback jumper. 

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.