Wolf Pack upsets No. 7 UT Southern

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team ended its home schedule on a good note Saturday afternoon, taking down No. 7 Tennessee Southern, 70-63, in The Den. Loyola (8-17, 7-11 in SSAC) has two more games left in the regular season, both on the road as well. First, the Wolf Pack will face No. 19 Mobile on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., then they'll take on William Carey on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 

The Wolf Pack went on a tear to start the first half against the Firehawks. Braelee Albert scored the first five points for the Pack with a jumper and a triple. Milan Mejia added another five points of his own to put the Pack up 10-3. A second Albert trey pushed Loyola ahead 13-3 with over 15 minutes until the break. The Firehawks managed to cut the Loyola lead to four, but the Wolf Pack offense stayed strong with two more 3-pointers from Mejia. An old-school 3-point play from Leonard Jackson extended the Loyola lead out to 11 at the midway point of the first half, 24-13.
 

The Firehawks continued to chip away at the Wolf Pack lead in the remaining minutes of the first half. With four minutes until halftime, a Firehawk 3 tied the game at 27-27. Then, Albert scored six points in the final four minutes of play to put the Pack up four heading into the second half, 33-29.
 

Julian Baldwin scored the first two buckets in the second half to push the Loyola lead to eight with under 17 minutes to go. Free throws from Mejia, Zachary Lee, and Kameron Johnson extended the Wolf Pack lead with 14 minutes left, 43-31. Once again, the Firehawks managed to shrink the Loyola lead. With over 8 minutes remaining, the Firehawks made it a three-point game, 47-44. 
 

The Wolf Pack fought back with a Mejia steal that helped set up two free throws for Albert. An additional two Albert free throws along with a layup from Alex Hammond brought the Loyola lead back out to seven. Then, a Mejia triple capped off the 9-2 run to put the score at 56-46 with five minutes to go. In the remaining minutes, the Pack continued to make shots at the charity stripe with Albert, Jackson, and Baldwin each making a pair of free throws, 62-50. The Wolf Pack held strong in the final two minutes, securing the 70-63 victory.
 

Pack Facts

• No. 7 UT Southern is the highest-ranked team Loyola has beaten since the 2021-2022 National Championship season when the Pack beat Talladega, ranked as high as No. 2, four separate times during the year. 

• Braelee Albert enjoyed his best game as a member of the Wolf Pack, pouring in 22 points with eight rebounds, shooting 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from three, and 9-of-10 at the free throw line. 

• Milan Mejia scored 16 for the second game in a row, hitting 4-of-8 from distance while also posting three steals and three assists. 

• Leonard Jackson was a perfect 8-of-8 at the stripe, scoring six points in the game's final four minutes to help put the game away.