No. 25 Florida College downs Wolf Pack

PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team closed out its time at the Battle at the Beach on Tuesday, losing to Florida College, 71-50. The Wolf Pack (2-4, 1-0 in SSAC) will next play an exhibition against NCAA Division I Louisiana on Monday, Nov. 27, before returning to Southern States Athletic Conference action on Thursday, Nov. 30, at Point University. 
 

Milan Mejia got the scoring started for the Wolf Pack with a 3-pointer, and the senior actually scored the first five points for the team to make it a 9-5 Florida College lead in the first four minutes of the game. Eddie Burgess was the next to score, but the Falcons still raced out to a 21-7 advantage with 11 minutes until halftime. Zachary Lee hit two free throws moments later, but both teams went on a scoring drought over the next couple of minutes. 
 

The scoring drought continued for the Wolf Pack while Florida College extended its lead to 27-9 with seven minutes left, but Braelee Albert was able to get one to go immediately after. Kameron Johnson and Albert both hit 3s, but the Falcons kept scoring, too, extending their lead to 36-17 with a little more than three minutes left until halftime. Burgess scored two more times and Mejia made a 3, but FC kept answering to take a 41-26 lead into the locker room. 
 

Lee, Albert and Burgess allowed Loyola to score the first seven points of the second half, cutting the deficit to nine, 41-33, after four-plus minutes of play. Lee scored two more field goals sandwiched between a Florida College score, 45-36, and Alex Hammond made it a seven-point ballgame after that with 13 minutes left on the clock. The Falcons, however, would hold a 52-40 lead at the halfway point of the second half. 
 

Both teams had trouble scoring over the next few minutes, bringing the score to 56-42 at the six-minute mark. From there, Florida College maintained a sizeable lead over the Wolf Pack, closing out its 21-point win. 
 

Pack Facts

• Braelee Albert logged the first double-double for a Wolf Pack player this year after having 11 points and 11 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive end. 

• It was also the first double-double of Albert's collegiate career. 

• Zachary Lee matched his career best with 12 points, hitting 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He also grabbed six boards.

• In his first start of the year, Eddie Burgess again surpassed his season best with eight points. 

• Milan Mejia led the team in threes, hitting two long range shots to finish with eight points. 

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