Loyola moves win streak to six Tuesday

NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team used a hot start to jump out to a big early lead against the College of Biblical Studies in The Den on Tuesday, defeating the Ambassadors 91-71 for its sixth straight win. 
 

The Wolf Pack is now 10-2 overall, and they'll be back in action against SUNO on Monday, Jan. 5. Tip-off in The Den is scheduled for 7 p.m. Loyola (3-0 in SSAC) will return to league play on Thursday, Jan. 8, when it hosts Mobile at 7:30 p.m.
 

The Pack rode Leonard Jackson's hot hand through the first nine minutes of the game, as the redshirt senior scored 16 of Loyola's first 20 points. He started the game with a 3, then followed that up with three made free throws to give Loyola a 6-3 lead. Jaylen Peters scored twice, and Jackson hit two more 3s and two 2-point field goals in three minutes to put Loyola up 20-11 with 11 minutes until halftime. 
 

Georgios Vassilakis and Quinton Hairston each scored their first points of the game, and Vassilakis scored again, 27-13. Three free throws by Eain Mowat, then two more made shots by Vassilakis, including another 3, capped off a 20-4 run for Loyola that saw the game's score get to 35-15 with six and a half minutes left until the break. After the Ambassadors made a couple of 3s, the Wolf Pack finished the final five-plus minutes on a 17-4 run to take a 52-25 lead by the half. Zachary Lee led the team with six points during that stretch to help make it a 27-point lead. 
 

Apostolos Paziotopoulos made it eight scorers for the Wolf Pack when he hit s 3-pointer to start the second half. Peters had four quick points after that to get into double figures, 59-34, and back-to-back 3s by Lee got him into double digits for points as well, 67-37. Two more made shots by Vassilakis gave Loyola its largest lead, 74-41, at the 11:30 mark. 
 

Evan Savoy and Brody Adams scored to give Loyola 10 in the points column, as Savoy flashed some moves in the closing minutes to finish the game with seven. The Ambassadors strung together some made shots in garbage time, but the final result was never in doubt. 
 

Pack Facts

• Georgios Vassilakis led the Wolf Pack with 17 points in just 15 minutes of action, shooting 7-of-9 from the field. 

• In the first nine minutes of the game, Leonard Jackson poured in 16 points. He went 3-for-6 from three-point range in the game. 

• Zachary Lee recorded a new career high with eight assists, plus 12 points, four rebounds, a steal, and a block. 

• Jaylen Peters tied a career high with nine rebounds while also putting up 15 points, his highest scoring game of the season. 

• Apostolos Paziotopoulos scored his first points in a Wolf Pack uniform on a three-pointer to start the second half, then he made it double digits, finishing with 10 total points, seven assists, five rebounds, and a steal. 

• Evan Savoy scored a career-high seven points, going 3-of-4 from the field while sinking his only three-point attempt. 

• Quinton Hairston logged 22 minutes in his first game for the Wolf Pack, scoring three points while adding two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. 

• Loyola's eight blocks were the team's most in any game this season. Cameron Williams and Jaylen Peters each had two blocks to lead the team. 

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