NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack are 3-0 in season openers during the Donald Reyes era, with the latest coming in an 89-71 defeat of Southern University at New Orleans on Thursday in The Den. The win marked the fourth straight victory over the Knights, too, and the second year in a row it came on the season opener.
Milan Mejia, who entered the year ranked seventh in program history for made 3s, promptly started the season with one from long-range, then the Wolf Pack found another open man with an extra pass as Alex Hammond hit a 3 on the next possession, 6-2. Cameron Williams scored after an offensive rebound, and Kosta Bjelicic and Jaylen Peters scored their first career points to give the Wolf Pack a 14-11 lead at the 13-minute mark. Leonard Jackson made his mark early with six quick points, the first three coming off an old-fashioned 3-point play and the other on a 3-ball to put Loyola ahead 23-19 at the halfway mark of the first half.
Hammond received a nice pass from Mejia and drained a 3 to break a tie, 26-23, and Jackson got on the board again with an uncontested layup to break another tie, 28-26, with five-plus minutes left until halftime. After the Knights scored five straight, Mejia tied it with a fastbreak score. The two teams went back and forth for a few possessions with Bjelicic scoring a couple of baskets and another 3 from Mejia to put the Pack on top 38-36 with less than two minutes to go. Reece Seicshnaydre grabbed his first points of the season - a 3 from the corner - to help send Loyola into the break with a 43-39 lead.
Zachary Lee and Hammond both hit 3s to help Loyola start fast in the first half, 55-45, but the Knights were able to trim into the lead over the next four minutes to make it a 62-58 game with less than 13 minutes left in the game. Five quick points by Jackson, and scores by Williams and Kameron Johnson, helped halt SUNO's run, 71-58, as the visitors burned a timeout at the 10-minute mark.
Both teams locked down on defense during the next five minutes, but the Wolf Pack still led by double digits, 77-66, thanks to scores by Julian Baldwin, Braelee Albert and Lee. Loyola controlled the game the rest of the way, as five different scorers (Hammond, Bjelicic, Albert, Mejia and Lee) helped put it away for the Wolf Pack.
Next up for the Wolf Pack is six straight games away from home starting with an exhibition game at LSU on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m.
Pack Facts
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Loyola played 11 different players Thursday night, and all 11 scored, led by Alex Hammond's 17 points.
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Hammond also had a game highs in assists with seven dimes and three-pointers, shooting 3-of-6 from deep.
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Zachary Lee neared a double-double, leading the Pack with nine rebounds and five assists to go along with his 13 points.
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Leonard Jackson went 5-of-9 from the field and 2-of-4 from three to score 13 points off the bench.
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Milan Mejia knocked down two three-pointers as well, finishing with 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
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Mejia is now tied for ninth on Loyola's career steals list with 133 takeaways in his career.
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Loyola's offense totaled 21 assists, which would have tied the team's highest total in any game last season. The Pack also racked up 11 steals, which would've been the team's third-highest steals total last season.
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