Box Score Loyola and Stillman College had to play an extra five minutes after a close first and second half, as the Wolf Pack prevailed for their 25th win of the season
NEW ORLEANS – For the second straight game, the No. 2-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack needed an extra period to secure a Southern States Athletic Conference win, defeating Stillman College 90-83 in their last home game of the regular season. The win now puts Loyola at 25-1 overall and 14-1 in the conference standings, one game ahead of second-place Talladega.
Loyola still has three games left in the regular season, and all three will be on the road before the SSAC Championship begins Tuesday, Feb. 22. The Pack will first play at Stillman on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. before road trips to Blue Mountain on Saturday and Talladega on Sunday.
The first half on Monday played out as close as it could have been, with the score switching sides eight times with nine ties. Stillman scored the game's first four points, but Brandon Davis made back-to-back shots, followed by a score from Zach Wrightsil, to bring the game to its first tie, 6-6. Andrew Fava gave Loyola its first lead, 9-8, with a 3-pointer four minutes into the game, then after a Wrightsil score to go up 11-8, the Tigers made three shots in six possessions to tie the game all three times, the latter bringing the score to 18-18 with 12-plus minutes until halftime. The two teams traded the lead three times over the next three and a half minutes, but a score by Jalen Galloway put the Pack up 25-22 at the nine-minute mark.
A couple of minutes later, Davis put Loyola up by six, 30-24, with a 3-pointer, but Stillman battled back to tie it two more times before taking a 36-34 lead with two minutes left. Davis' third 3 of the half switched the lead for the final time with less than two minutes remaining, then a buzz-beating score by Zach Muller gave Loyola a 39-36 advantage at the break.
Stillman and Loyola traded 3s to start the second half, as Galloway made the shot for the Pack, but the two teams traded the lead two more times before Loyola could make a run. With the score tied 44-44 at the 13-minute mark, the Pack scored 15 straight to jump ahead 59-44 with nine and a half to play. Burns and Davis got the run started with two free throws each, then Muller got the Wolf Pack fans on their feet with a fastbreak dunk after a Burns steal. Wrightsil completed the old-fashioned 3-point play, Burns and Muller scored again, and Davis capped off the hot streak with two more free throws.
The Tigers, though, cut the Loyola lead to one possession, 67-64, with 4:15 left on the clock, then a 3-pointer two minutes later gave Stillman a 69-68 lead. They traded the lead four more times, as Muller put the Pack up 73-71 with 51 seconds left before Stillman retook the lead, 74-73, with 12 seconds left. Brandon Davis then drove the lane and was fouled with 7 seconds, making both free throws to give Loyola a 75-74 advantage, but a Stillman player was fouled on the other end with 2 seconds to go. After missing the first try from the charity stripe, the Tigers' shooter tied the game to force overtime.
In the extra period, three straight made shots by Davis, Wrightsil and Terry Smith Jr. quickly gave Loyola the momentum, then a 3-pointer by Davis gave Loyola an 86-80 lead with two minutes left. Galloway hit a big shot in the final 30 seconds, and Burns finished things off with another score 20 seconds later, to help outscore the Tigers 15-8 in overtime.
Pack Facts
With the final play of the game, a pass from Zach Wrightsil leading to an exclamation point dunk from Myles Burns, Wrightsil became Loyola's all-time assists leader. He now has 446 total assists in his career.
Wrightsil finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Burns also completed a double-double with that final dunk, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds along with three assists and three steals.
Brandon Davis led the team in scoring, finishing with a career-high 30 points, as well as six rebounds, six assists, and a team-high four steals.
Two more players scored in double figures, with Jalen Galloway (15 points) and Zach Muller (12 points) both recording season highs.
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