Men’s basketball wins at Blue Mountain

BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. – After trailing for most of the second half, the Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team snapped a three-game losing skid at Blue Mountain Christian on Thursday, 57-55. Loyola improved to 5-10 overall and 4-4 in Southern States Athletic Conference play, and it'll travel to UT Southern on Saturday for a 2 p.m. league matchup. 
 

Milan Mejia and Bradley Alcime got Loyola off to a 5-0 lead, but the Toppers tied the game four minutes into the start. BMCU would end up taking a 19-12 advantage through the first 11 minutes, however, five points from Braelee Albert quickly cut into the deficit, 21-20, with seven minutes to go in the first half. With five minutes to go, Blue Mountain held a 27-20 lead. 
 

Two scores by Zachary Lee and Mejia's second field goal of the game quickly cut it to 1, then two free throws by Kameron Johnson gave Loyola a one-point lead, 28-27, with less than two minutes until halftime. Two free throws each by Johnson and Albert gave the Pack a 32-29 advantage at the break. 
 

Alcime got the second half started with a 3-pointer, however, the Toppers were still able to take a 37-36 lead three minutes into the second half. A quick 7-0 run for BMCU gave the hosts momentum, then scores by Lee, Johnson and Alex Hammond brought the deficit to four, 48-44, with 10 minutes to go in the game. Johnson converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to give the Toppers a 51-47 lead at the nine-minute mark, but neither team scored for nearly four minutes of game time. 
 

Another Mejia 3-pointer narrowed the BMCU lead to 3, 53-50, and a Johnson score brought it to one, 54-53, with more than two minutes left on the clock. In the final minute, Lee recorded a steal and was fouled, making both free throws to put Loyola back on top, 55-54. After another BMCU turnover, Hammond made two more free throws to push it to a three-point lead to solidify Loyola's win. 
 

Pack Facts

• Loyola has now won its last 10 matchups with Blue Mountain dating back to 2019. 

• Free throw shooting won the game for Loyola, as the Pack made 17-of-20 attempts from the line, while the Toppers missed 17 attempts, shooting 9-of-26 at the charity stripe. 

• Blue Mountain was held to just 42 shot attempts and 20 makes, the lowest field goal numbers for any Wolf Pack opponent this year. The Pack forced the Toppers into 19 turnovers, this season's third-highest total for an opponent.

• The Wolf Pack had three players in double figures in the scoring column, with Kameron Johnson leading the way at 13 points to match his season high. 

• Behind Johnson, Zachary Lee put up 11 points and three steals, while Braelee Albert scored 10 with a block. 

• Alex Hammond did not score double digits, but he did lead the team with five rebounds. 

• Leonard Jackson led the team with three assists. 

• Milan Mejia grabbed two steals, bringing his career total over the century mark with 101.