NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans erased a 14-point second-half deficit on Saturday, but the Faulkner Eagles were able to hold off the Wolf Pack in the end for a 77-74 win in The Den. Loyola (6-11, 3-5 in SSAC) will take a road trip through Georgia next week, traveling to Brewton-Parker and Middle Georgia on Thursday and Saturday.
Both teams shot similar percentages from the field in the first half, but offensive rebounds and points off turnovers gave Faulkner the edge after 20 minutes of play. The Eagles had seven offensive boards and nine points of turnovers at the break.
Braelee Albert scored the game's first points, then Faulkner scored seven straight after three minutes of play. An offensive board helped the Eagles make it a 9-4 lead, then a Loyola turnover resulted in the Eagles going ahead 11-4. Kameron Johnson, Jaylen Peters and Milan Mejia all scored their first points of the game in a back-and-forth battle, 19-15.
Another offensive rebound led to the Eagles taking a 10-point lead, 29-19, with seven minutes until halftime, but scores by Albert and Julian Baldwin cut it back down to six, 29-23. Faulkner, again, pushed back ahead by double figures, as Leonard Jackson brought it back down to single digits with a 3-point in the final minute, 41-33. \
Faulkner started the second half by making its first three shots before Mejia got the Pack back on the board with a 3, 47-36. Jackson added a score on the next possession to get back to a single-digit deficit, but an offensive rebound helped the Eagles get back to a double-digit lead, 52-38, after five minutes. The Wolf Pack bounced back with seven straight points, which included 3-pointers from Jackson and Reece Seicshnaydre, 52-45.
Albert and Jarvis Brown both hit 3s in a back-and-forth next couple of minutes that saw Faulkner leading 56-51 halfway through the second half.
Loyola tried to take advantage of the momentum when Peters dunked one home and Seicshnaydre hit another 3. After the two traded a couple of shots, Albert converted an and-1 opportunity to make it a 64-61 game with six minutes left. Brown made two big shots, the latter being a 3 from the corner to tie the game, 66-66, then Jackson hit a 3 from the other corner to give Loyola its first lead, 69-68, since the score read 2-0.
The final four minutes featured three lead changes and two ties, as Faulkner regained the lead, 70-69. Albert put the Pack back on top right after that, 71-70, but again, the Eagles jumped back out in front, 72-71, with three minutes left. Jackson tied it twice with three free throws on two separate trips to the charity stripe, 74-74, and four attempts for the Wolf Pack to either tie or take the lead in the final minute were missed.
Pack Facts
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Braelee Albert led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding seven rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block.
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As a team, Loyola made 11 three-pointers, the team's highest total in a game this season. Six different Wolf Pack players made at least one triple.
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Leonard Jackson knocked down a team-high three shots from deep, finishing with 18 points.
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