NEW ORLEANS – Matched up with a tough opponent in the annual Hall of Fame Game, the Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team dropped a close one 73-71 at home against Life University on Saturday.
The Pack (8-13, 5-7 SSAC) will be back in action in The Den with a conference matchup against Blue Mountain Christian on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
To start the game, Kameron Johnson put the Pack on the board first with a triple just before he dished to Cameron Williams for a layup, 5-0. The Running Eagles tied things up early with a 3-pointer and a dunk, 5-5. In a scoring frenzy between both teams, Loyola ended up ahead 14-12 with scores by Leonard Jackson and Kosta Bjelicic, plus a Milan Mejia three. Jarvis Brown, Williams, and Bjelicic stretched the Loyola lead out to seven past the midway mark of the first half, 19-12.
A Reece Seicshnaydre three-pointer started another scoring run between the Wolf Pack and the Running Eagles, 22-13. Shortly after, Bjelicic made a layup, then converted an old-fashioned three-point play on his second make to go ahead, 27-18. Life played well in the following minutes, cutting Loyola's lead to one, but Johnson drained a three and Mejia hit a bucket to stay ahead, 32-29. In the final minutes of the first half, the Running Eagles made enough plays to take a lead heading into the locker room, 35-34.
The Running Eagles lived in the paint in the second half, with a 26-12 advantage in the painted area, which started with a layup and dunk in the opening minute. The early Life U scoring run was ended by a Jackson three, then a midrange jumper from Williams tied things up at 39-39.
The teams traded leads until the 15-minute mark of the half, when Life made a couple of layups and free throws to go up 47-43. The Running Eagles never trailed after that point, though the Pack kept things close enough to have a chance late.
Life extended its lead to as many as 10 points, 56-46, with just under 10 minutes left in the half. The Wolf Pack started heating up from beyond the arc, with Brown, Mejia, and Jackson sinking triples, and an easy layup from Baldwin to cut the deficit to 66-62. Loyola forced a few turnovers and hit enough shots to trail by just one point with five seconds left, but the visitors were able to run out the clock to walk away with the win.
Pack Facts
-
All nine players who saw minutes scored at least a point on Saturday for the Pack, with five players scoring in double figures.
-
Loyola was led by Kosta Bjelicic's 14 points off the bench.
-
Leonard Jackson posted 12 points, half of them coming on three-pointers, plus a team-high three steals, five rebounds, and two assists.
-
Despite the loss, the Wolf Pack hit double-digit threes for the fourth time this season, shooting 10-of-31 from long range. The team also only committed eight turnovers to Life's 16.
-
Milan Mejia led the team with three makes from beyond the arc, finishing with 11 points.
-
Cameron Williams and Jarvis Brown each reached 10 points in the game.
-
Kameron Johnson set a new season high and matched a collegiate career high with nine assists.
Subscribe to Pack Tracks, a Loyola Athletics Newsletter, for all of the latest information >> https://loyolawolfpack.com/subscribe.aspx. You can also keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.
