Box Score The third-ranked Wolf Pack avenged their only loss of the season by beating the Eagles by 52 points in The Den on Saturday
NEW ORLEANS – The result of Saturday's Southern States Athletic Conference matchup between No. 3 Loyola and No. 21 Faulkner was never in question. The Wolf Pack used dominant defense to clamp down on the Eagles, then a firework show on offense made for a great afternoon in The Den, as Loyola put a beatdown on Faulkner, 121-69.
The Pack improved their record to 21-1 overall and 10-1 in the SSAC, setting up an important stretch of home games for them. Saturday was the first of five straight home games for the Pack, and they're set to host Blue Mountain at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday before games against Dalton State, No. 2 Talladega and Stillman College at home in a 10-day span.
The Wolf Pack got off to a fast start with six points in the opening minute. Zach Wrightsil followed up his missed shot with a put-back and Andrew Fava drained a 3-pointer for those quick points, but the Eagles battled back to take a 10-8 lead four minutes into the game. That sparked another Wolf Pack run, though, scoring the next 20 points to grab control, 28-10. Terry Smith Jr. sparked the run with an and-1 opportunity, and three 3s by Brandon Davis got the Wolf Pack fans off their feet during the three-minute scoring frenzy.
After Faulkner made it 28-12, Fava and Myles Burns each hit 3s to keep the scoring going for the Pack, and a steal by Davis turned into an easy lay-in for Fava to extend Loyola's advantage to 38-15 halfway through the first half. Another run for the Pack, this time an 11-0 spurt, ballooned the lead to 49-16, as Burns contributed five of those points while Fava nailed another 3. Davis, Burns, Wrightsil and Fava all ended the first half in double figures, as the Pack held a 37-point advantage at the break, 67-30.
The Wolf Pack kept up their pace to start the second half, getting a couple of 3-pointers from Fava and buckets by Smith, Wrightsil and Burns to keep the large lead, 79-42, through the first five minutes. The highlight of the opening minutes was Burns turning the ball over only to steal it right back to set up an alley-oop from Wrightsil. Burns and Fava combined to make seven free throws in the next couple of minutes to give Loyola an 86-42 advantage with more than 14 minutes left in the game.
Fava made two more 3s, 98-50, on his way to a 30-point night, and the Eagles never could cut into the Wolf Pack's lead to make the outcome of the game even remotely in doubt. After hitting the 100-point mark with more than nine minutes to go, Zach Muller, Josh Leaney, Eddie Burgess, Luke Ladner and Smith all scored to close out the win.
Pack Facts
Wolf Pack head coach Stacy Hollowell, who ranks second all-time in career wins at Loyola, won his 150th game as head coach on Saturday.
Andrew Fava led the Wolf Pack in scoring on Saturday, earning his first-career 30-point game. Fava drilled seven three-pointers for the first time in his career and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the free-throw line.
For his sixth double-double of the season, Myles Burns posted an unconventional stat line of 21 points, 10 steals, nine rebounds, and six assists. It was his first-career game with double-digit steals.
Burns broke his own school record for most steals in a season. The NAIA leader in takeaways this season, Burns has amassed 90 steals on the season thus far. He's also almost at 300 steals for his career with 296 total.
Zach Wrightsil collected his fifth double-double of the season after scoring 20 points with 15 rebounds. Wrightsil also had five assists and two blocks.
Two more players scored in double figures for the Wolf Pack: Brandon Davis with 16 points and Terry Smith Jr. with 15. Davis, who also finished with four assists and two steals, made four triples in the first half.
Eddie Burgess came off the bench for seven points in the final four minutes. He also scored his first-career three-pointer as time expired.
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