Wolf Pack fall late in The Den Saturday

NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack men's basketball team played its final home game of the calendar year on Saturday, facing the Keiser Seahawks in an afternoon contest. Keiser took a late lead over Loyola and held on for the win, 77-75.

The Wolf Pack will go on the road for its next game against Thomas University with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Dec. 17.

After both teams went scoreless in the opening minutes, Keiser made two buckets to put the visitors on the board. Braelee Albert gave the home team its first score, and then Leonard Jackson and Kameron Johnson sunk triples to take a three-point advantage, 8-5. Soon after, Alex Hammond knocked down a shot from long range and made a layup to bolster Loyola's lead, 13-7. 

In the following minutes, Kosta Bjelicic got on the board with his first basket of the game, 15-9. Albert hit a mid-range jumper before Cameron Williams and Hammond drained 3-pointers to give the Pack a double-digit lead with over eight minutes left in the half, 23-13. The Seahawks made some free throws to cut Loyola's lead, but Albert made a trey and a layup, and Johnson hit a jumper with under three minutes until halftime, 31-20. Milan Mejia scored Loyola's final points of the half with a triple to put the Pack up, 35-26, heading into the locker room.

Mejia opened the second half the same way he closed the first, knocking down another shot from the perimeter to set up another double-digit edge, 38-28. A steal by Johnson led to a layup by Jackson to extend the Pack's advantage to 11. Julian Baldwin completed a three-point play and made another jumper to match Keiser's scoring, 45-34. Loyola went on a scoring frenzy with back-to-back buckets by Bjelicic and another Johnson jumper, along with a make at the charity stripe by Albert, 52-37. Another Mejia trey extended the home team's advantage, 57-37.

The visiting team went on a scoring run of its own, Bjelicic made a mid-range shot and Williams dunked one and made another with a jumper to keep Loyola in double-digit territory, 63-53. Keiser's run continued, managing a tie with six minutes remaining, 63-63. Mejia got a layup and made his fourth three-pointer of the game to give Loyola a five-point lead, 68-63. 

The Seahawks were able to get a lead, but Johnson made a layup to tie it, 70-70. Then, Jackson scored a bank shot to tie it again with over a minute left, 72-all. After Keiser got its lead back, Albert scored on an old-fashioned three-point play to give Loyola a one-point edge with 13 seconds left, 75-74. However, the Seahawks came away with a three-pointer in their final possession to steal the win, 77-75.

Pack Facts

• Milan Mejia led the team with 16 points in Saturday's game, making a game-high four threes. He also had two steals to secure his spot as seventh in program history for career steals.

• Kameron Johnson had a game-high eight assists on the day, doubling Keiser's highest individual total. In addition to his eight dimes, Johnson had nine points, along with a game-high three steals and two rebounds.

• Braelee Albert led the Wolf Pack in rebounds, bringing in eight boards. Albert also scored the second-most points on the team with 13 points in the game. Additionally, he had five assists with a steal and a block.