NEW ORLEANS – The 14th-ranked Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team suffered a loss on Thursday, dropping a Southern States Athletic Conference contest to Dalton State, 84-74. The Pack is now 20-6 overall and 15-4 in league play. \
 

After Thursday night's loss, the Wolf Pack can still clinch the No. 1 seed in next week's SSAC Men's Basketball Championship with a win on Saturday. Loyola and Life University are set for the regular-season finale at 2 p.m. in The Den, as the Wolf Pack seniors will be honored prior to tip-off. 
 

Both teams started the game by shooting at a high clip, as Loyola started 6-for-8 to Dalton State's 9-for-11 through the first seven minutes. Jalen Galloway had four points during that stretch and Matthew Mondesir hit a 3-pointer to get to five points. However, by that time, the Roadrunners held a 20-15 lead and they were just beginning a 22-3 run that saw their lead grow to 38-18 with three minutes until the break. 
 

Dalton State was aided by 15 Wolf Pack turnovers in the first half that turned into 21 points for the visitors, which led 43-24 at the half. 
 

The deficit stayed around 20 points for the majority of the second half, but the Pack started to find some rhythm with less than nine minutes to go. Galloway made back-to-back shots, then a 3 by Michael Harden made it a 75-58 ballgame. Two free throws by Milan Mejia cut the DSC lead to 13, 77-64, then the junior scored again to make it an 11-point game, 77-66, with less than six minutes left on the clock. 
 

Loyola kept trying to get within single digits throughout the rest of the matchup, but the Roadrunners kept fighting off the Wolf Pack's efforts.
 

Pack Facts

• Jalen Galloway led all scorers with 21 points. His seven rebounds were also a game high. 

• Matthew Mondesir was second on the team with 16 points, 11 of which came in the first half. He also had five assists and six rebounds. 

• Michael Harden was Loyola's third player in double figures for the Pack, scoring 10 with eight assists. His eight assists tied a season high. 

• Milan Mejia, who scored nine points, had a team high of four steals. 

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.