Loyola wins fourth straight on Senior Day

NEW ORLEANS – The Wolf Pack closed out the regular season on Saturday with a win over William Carey (Miss) in The Den. With Saturday's 83-65 victory the Pack closed the regular season with four straight victories, its longest win streak of the season.

 

The Wolf Pack (12-15, 8-9 SSAC) are set to begin the SSAC Men's Basketball Championship on Wednesday, February 26 at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Ala. West division No. 5-seed Loyola will face East No. 4-seed Thomas University at 10:45 a.m. to kick off the tournament. With an opening-round win, the Pack would rematch top West seed Mobile on Thursday. 

 

Milan Mejia knocked down a basket from beyond the arc to start Saturday's contest with a 3-0 lead. Two free throws by Braelee Albert kept the home team in front by three, 5-2. A Mejia trey from the corner and an alley-oop from senior Troy Thomas to senior Julian Baldwin set up a four-point edge for the Maroon and Gold, 10-6. A free throw from Kameron Johnson, a layup by Mejia, and 3-pointers by Albert and Mejia extended Loyola's lead to double digits, 19-8.

 

Leonard Jackson and Reece Seicshnaydre got on the scoresheet with a jumper and a reverse layup, respectively, 25-11. Another triple from Albert and a dish from Thomas to Kosta Bjelicic created a 15-point advantage for the Wolf Pack, 32-17. Bjelicic got to the rim again, then Albert nailed a corner three to set up a 20-point lead with under six minutes left in the half, 39-19. Baldwin dunked one and Seicshnaydre made a layup and a triple to further the home team's advantage to 25, 46-21. Loyola's defense held it down from there to enter the break with a 22-point lead, 46-24.

 

Free throws by Jackson, and Mejia, as well as two Bjelicic scores kept the Pack up by 21 in the early going of the second half, 54-33. Shortly after, Bjelicic made one off the backboard, then Cameron Williams drove to the basket, 58.39. Bjelicic scored again, then a triple by Jarvis Brown gave Loyola its largest lead, 65-42.

 

The Crusaders started to chip away at Loyola's lead after the midway point of the second half, 69-57. Another triple by Brown helped the Pack fend off the Crusaders, 72-57, but William Carey continued to fight back. Mejia's fourth triple of the contest and an alley-oop from Albert to Bjelicic helped Loyola cruise to victory. Schuyler Pimentel got on the board in the final minutes to help the Pack close the contest with an 18-point victory. 

 

Pack Facts

• Kosta Bjelicic led the game in scoring with 20 points, his third time hitting the 20-mark in the month of February. 

• Loyola's all-time leading three-point scorer Milan Mejia led all shooters Saturday with four makes from beyond the arc, finishing with 16 points. 

• Braelee Albert also was hot from long range, shooting 3-of-4 from deep with four free throws for 13 points. 

• Reece Seicshnaydre reached double figures in scoring for the third time this season, finishing with 11 points. 

• Loyola knocked down 10 three-pointers in Saturday's game. It was the team's second game in a row with double-digit threes, and just the sixth time this season. 

• The Wolf Pack closed the 2024 regular season in very similar fashion to the 2025 regular season. In 2024: the team won games against Mobile, top-seeded Tennessee Southern, and William Carey. This year, it was wins against Mobile, top-seeded Dalton State, and William Carey on senior day. 

• Loyola held the Crusaders to just 31.1 percent shooting for the game, the lowest field-goal percentage for any Wolf Pack opponent this season. 

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