PULASKI, Tenn. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team faced a tough task Saturday afternoon, as the team took to the road to try to dethrone Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) leaders Tennessee Southern. Despite Loyola holding a lead for the majority of the game, the Firehawks kept it close and pulled away in the end, as the Wolf Pack fell 69-58.
Back at home in The Den for the team's next two games, Loyola (5-11, 4-5 SSAC) is slated to take on Point University as SSAC play continues on Thursday at 7 p.m. Then, the Wolf Pack will face Thomas University on Saturday at 2 p.m. as part of the Wolf Pack Athletics Hall of Fame celebration.
The Wolf Pack got buckets from Leonard Jackson, Zachary Lee, and Bradley Alcime within the game's first few minutes, but neither team scored well in the early part of the game, as things were all tied at 6-6 at the 5-minute mark. Loyola then put together a few solid offensive minutes, as Milan Mejia and Braelee Albert drilled back-to-back triples, then Mejia converted a pair of layups to give the Pack a double-digit lead at 16-6 with 11 minutes left in the half.
The Firehawks responded well to Loyola's offensive burst, out-scoring the Pack 14-3 to gain their first lead at 20-19 with just over five minutes remaining in the half. The teams battled back-and-forth the rest of the way, with UT Southern getting a last-second jumper to fall right before the halftime break to take a 31-29 lead into the second half.
Alex Hammond floated in a layup to get the scoring started in a promising start to the second half. After Jackson matched a Firehawk three with one of his own from the left wing, Hammond found Eddie Burgess for a layup to put the Wolf Pack ahead once again.
Three consecutive buckets by Lee and a couple of free throws by Alcime gave Loyola its largest lead of the second half at 44-38 with 11:30 to go, but the shooting went cold for the Pack as the Firehawks took over, embarking on a 19-2 scoring run that would give them the lead for good. UT Southern closed out the game on a 31-14 run to win by a score of 69-58 and improve to 10-0 in conference play.
Pack Facts
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Zachary Lee set a new collegiate career high in scoring, putting up 15 points while making half of his 14 attempts from the field.
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After knocking down two triples in the game, Milan Mejia entered the top 10 on Loyola's all-time three-pointers list. With a career 150 threes made, he now sits at 10th.
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Mejia put up 10 total points in the contest, adding four steals.
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Alex Hammond finished with a stat line of 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and a steal. The nine boards were a game high and it matches his career high.
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