Box Score The second-ranked Wolf Pack won an overtime thriller over No. 5 Talladega on Saturday, taking sole possession of first place in the SSAC standings
NEW ORLEANS – Round 1 of the heavyweight battle between No. 2 Loyola and No. 5 Talladega lived up to the hype. Both teams held leads but neither team could pull away, as the Wolf Pack won the overtime thriller, 90-82, in front of a standing-room-only crowd in The Den. Loyola is now 24-1 overall and 13-1 in the Southern States Athletic Conference, and it now sits all alone atop the standings with a home game against Stillman College set for 6 p.m. on Monday.
The Tornadoes led for most of the first half, and Loyola tied the game twice before taking its first lead, 28-26, with less than four minutes until halftime. The Pack had four different scorers make shots in the first six minutes of the game, staying within striking distance of Talladega's lead, 16-9, but it was Zach Wrightsil who contributed the most offensively in the first half for Loyola. Wrightsil was the only Wolf Pack player with more than two field goals in the first 20 minutes, as his ninth point cut the Tornadoes' lead to 21-20 with 7:42 until the half.
Jalen Galloway and Zach Muller scored their first points to help tie the game at 26-all in the final four minutes. Less than a minute after Muller tied the game, Wrightsil gave Loyola its first lead with a score, 28-26, then he scored once more in the final minute to help bring the game to a 32-32 tie at the break.
Myles Burns and Wrightsil combined to score the first 12 points for the Wolf Pack in the second half, as the two teams traded the lead a couple of times in the first six and a half minutes. Muller then switched the lead in the Wolf Pack's favor with a made shot, 46-44, and two free throws by Galloway put the Pack up four, 48-44, with 12-plus minutes to go. After two more lead changes, Brandon Davis made his first 3-pointer to tie the game, 56-56, at the eight-minute mark, but Talladega pushed ahead to a seven-point lead during the next three minutes of the game.
Trailing 69-62, Wrightsil scored to narrow the deficit and Davis made another 3-pointer to cut it to two, but the Tornadoes still held a four-point lead with 22 seconds left.
Two free throws by Davis made the score 76-74 with 17 seconds, forcing the Wolf Pack to foul Talladega to extend the game. The Tornadoes free-throw shooter missed both of his attempts, and Wrightsil drove the lane to make the game-tying bucket, 76-76, with 7 seconds left. Talladega couldn't get a clean shot off after that, sending the two NAIA powers to overtime.
Talladega quickly made a 3-pointer in the extra period, but that would be the only momentum it would have, as Davis made two free throws and a 3 to give Loyola an 80-79 lead in the opening minute. Back-to-back scores by Wrightsil and Davis pushed the lead to five, 84-79, then Burns and Terry Smith Jr. extended the advantage to 88-82 in the final minute. Davis iced the game with a pair of made shots from the charity stripe.
Pack Facts
Zach Wrightsil finished with a game-high 33 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field, recording his seventh double-double of the season with 13 rebounds. He was just one point off his career-high of 34 points, which was set in 2019.
Myles Burns also posted a double-double, his ninth of the season, with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Burns also had three blocks, a game-high.
Brandon Davis was the only player to hit a three-pointer for the Wolf Pack, making three triples with a total of 23 points, including an 8-of-10 performance at the free-throw line.
Davis also dished out eight assists, his third-straight game with at least eight dimes.
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