NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team earned a program milestone on Monday, defeating Dillard University, 75-67, on the road. The win gives the program 1,000 all-time wins, as this year's Wolf Pack has now won back-to-back games to help right the ship in the early portion of the 2024-25 schedule.
Loyola is set to host Keiser University (Fla.) on Saturday at 2 p.m. for its next game.
Julian Baldwin had a nice start for the Wolf Pack, going 2-for-2 from the floor with a couple of rebounds to give Loyola the early 7-5 lead. Dillard, though, went on an 11-0 run after that to go ahead 16-7 after nearly seven minutes of play. Kosta Bjelicic started to heat up, making two shots around a Milan Mejia 3-pointer to make it an 18-14 deficit with less than 12 minutes until halftime.
Neither team scored for the next couple of minutes, but Bjelicic ended that drought with a shot from beyond the arc to cut Dillard's lead down to one, 18-17. Jaylen Peters and Kameron Johnson both scored their first points of the game, with Johnson's coming from long-range, but the Bleu Devils kept answering. Scores by Alex Hammond and Baldwin got Loyola to within one, 31-30, with two minutes left, however, Dillard hit two 3s to take a 36-30 lead into the locker room.
Powered by Braelee Albert and Mejia, Loyola got off to a hot start in the second half. Mejia made the first 3-pointer, then Albert followed 15 seconds later to tie the game at 36-all. Leonard Jackson scored his first points after that to keep the game tied, and Albert put the Pack ahead for the first time since they led early in the first half with another 3, 41-38. Albert hit his third 3 of the second half, putting Loyola back in front, 51-48, after just six minutes of play, but Dillard would eventually take a 59-55 advantage at the halfway point.
After Bjelicic found the bottom of the net, Cameron Wiliams converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to flip the lead back to Loyola, 60-59, then Johnson made a 3-pointer to make it an 8-0 run. Loyola actually held Dillard to zero field goals for nearly seven minutes, building a 66-60 lead with three and a half to play. Fending off the Bleu Devils, Bjelicic hit a long jumper and Williams drilled a 3 from the corner to make the score 71-67 with two minutes on the clock. Williams added one more tough bucket to seal the win.
Pack Facts
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Braelee Albert led the Wolf Pack in every statistical category in Monday's game. Notching his second double-double with the Pack, Albert posted a monster stat line of 15 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals in 33 minutes. He also hit a game-high three three-pointers out of seven attempts from deep.
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Kosta Bjelicic tied for the team high in scoring with 15 points, going 6-of-10 from the field.
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Milan Mejia, who is now in sole possession of second place on Loyola's all-time three-pointers list with 215, hit a pair of triples and six free throws to make up his 12 points on the night.
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Cameron Williams scored all eight of his points in the last 8:10 of the second half, including two key buckets in the game's final two minutes.
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Kameron Johnson nearly doubled his career rebounding high Monday, pulling down eight boards in addition to his seven points and four assists.
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Loyola has won seven of its last eight matchups with Dillard, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
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