THOMASVILLE, Ga. – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team was back in action Tuesday evening, defeating Thomas University, 74-65, on the road after a 10-day hiatus. Loyola will play one more game to close out 2024, traveling to Southeastern Louisiana on Friday for a 6 p.m. exhibition game for the Wolf Pack.
Loyola held Thomas scoreless for the first three-and-a-half minutes of the game, forcing the hosts to just 0-for-3 shooting floor while forcing three turnovers. During that time, Leonard Jackson hit a 3 and Jaylen Peters and Braelee Albert combined to go 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to help Loyola get off to a good start. Loyola would eventually take a 15-2 lead after five minutes of game time thanks to a score by Peters and two more free throws from Jackson.
Two more 3-pointers from Jackson and two points each from Kameron Johnson and Milan Mejia helped Loyola take a 25-5 advantage after 11 minutes of play. The Night Hawks were 2-for-14 shooting at that point, but they finished 10-for-19 after that to make it a 10-point game at halftime, 40-30. Jackson and Peters led Loyola with 13 and 12 points, respectively, at the break.
The Wolf Pack fended the Night Hawks off the entire second half, as Jackson's seven early second-half points helped maintain a double-digit lead, 51-37, in the early going. Thomas used a 13-4 run during the next four-plus minutes to trim its deficit to five, though, 55-50, with nine minutes to play.
Four points by Johnson in a 90-second span fought off Thomas again, 61-54, but Loyola would only hold a five-point lead, 66-61, with 2:21 on the clock. Albert and Peters both scored four points down the stretch to help close things out.
Pack Facts
-
Leonard Jackson led all scorers with 21 points, his highest scoring game since November 2022, on 6-of-10 shooting, 3-of-5 from long range, and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. He also grabbed six rebounds.
-
Freshman Jaylen Peters went off for 18 points and eight rebounds, setting new season highs in both categories, while playing just 23 minutes Tuesday.
-
Braelee Albert also neared a double-double, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds while hitting all eight of his attempts at the line.
-
Milan Mejia was close to a double-double as well, putting up nine points and 10 rebounds plus four steals.
-
Kameron Johnson played all forty minutes against Thomas Tuesday night, posting 12 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and a block while not committing a single foul.
-
The five starters combined to score all of Loyola's 74 points. As a team, Loyola was nearly perfect at the stripe, with the Pack combining to go 28-for-30 on free throws and each starter making at least four foul shots.
Subscribe to Pack Tracks, a Loyola Athletics Newsletter, for all of the latest information >> https://loyolawolfpack.com/subscribe.aspx. You can also 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.
