MONTGOMERY, Ala.  – The Southern States Athletic Conference winning streak continues for the Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team, as Jalen Galloway's overtime 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left on the clock gave the Wolf Pack the 82-79 advantage at No. 8 Faulkner on Tuesday. 
 

The win marks the 24th straight win over an SSAC opponent for the program, which dates back to last season, and it moves this year's team to 12-2 overall and 7-0 in league play. Loyola will return to The Den on Saturday, hosting Talladega College at 2 p.m. 
 

It was a slow start for both teams as scores by Alex Hammond and Jalen Galloway gave Loyola a 4-2 lead through three-plus minutes of game action. After Faulkner took a 5-4 lead a minute later, the Pack used two steals on back-to-back Eagle possessions to jump ahead 9-5 with 13:23 on the clock. Mejia recorded the first steal and promptly drained a 3-pointer, then a steal by Hammond allowed Mejia to score an easy layup 20 seconds later. 
 

Faulkner, though went on a 16-8 run over the next four minutes to take a 21-17 lead. Zach Muller and Mejia each had 3s to keep pace with the Eagles, and Josh Tolbert scored off the bench as well. Hammond got back on the board and Luke Ladner made the Pack's fourth 3 to cut the deficit to 24-22 with six minutes left until halftime. 
 

Trailing 31-22 near the four-minute mark, Andrew Stagni stopped a 7-0 Faulkner run with a 3-pointer, then two free throws by Muller and a score by Michael Harden made it a 35-29 game in the final minutes of the first half. In a frantic final minute, Muller turned a turnover by Faulkner with seven seconds left on the clock into a buzz-beating 3 to cut the score to three, 35-32, at the break. 
 

Faulkner began the second half with another run, this time extending its advantage over the Wolf Pack to 46-36, but a 3-pointer by Tolbert and an old-fashioned 3-point play for Galloway brought the score down to 46-42 with 13 minutes left in the game. Mejia hit a big-time 3 less than a minute later, and an and-1 opportunity for Hammond kept Loyola close with less than 11 minutes to go, 52-48. 
 

The Eagles tried to push their lead back to double digits, but back-to-back scores by Hammond kept it a four-point contest with less than eight minutes to go, however, Faulkner eventually extended its lead to double digits, 71-60, three minutes later. This time, it was Loyola that got a run to make things interesting. The Pack scored the next 12 points, powered by 3s each from Matthew Mondesir and Harden to give Loyola its first lead of the second half, 72-71 with less than a minute left. Two free throws by Faulkner and one from Harden sent the game to overtime, 73-73. 
 

Hammond and Muller scored the first four points for the Wolf Pack in the extra period, then Muller put the team back ahead, 79-77, with 30 seconds to play. After the Eagles tied it with two free throws, Galloway drilled the game-winner with 1.5 seconds left on the clock to seal the upset win. 
 

Pack Facts

• Dating back to 2021, Loyola has won eight straight games over teams ranked inside the top 10 in the NAIA. 

• Loyola had four double-figure scorers, led by Jalen Galloway, whose final shot gave him 16 points for the game. Galloway also had a team-high six rebounds. 

• Zach Muller, who scored four points in the overtime period, finished with 15 points and a career-high four blocks. 

• Milan Mejia made four triples, a game high, to finish with 14 points. He also led the team with three steals. 

• Mejia almost made as many three-pointers as Faulkner's entire team, as the Wolf Pack went 12-for-25 (48%) from behind the arc while Faulkner was just 5-of-24 (21%).

• Overall, Loyola shot 30-for-58 (52%) from the field compared to just 26-of-63 (41%) for Faulkner. This was Loyola's fourth consecutive conference game making at least half of its shots from the field. 

• Alex Hammond set a new season high in scoring, as the freshman put up 14 points with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. It's also his third straight game in double figures. 

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.