NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team took care of business at home on Saturday in a Southern States Athletic Conference matchup against Brewton-Parker Christian, winning by a final score of 88-73.
The victory over the Barons sets up an important home contest on Monday, when the Pack takes on No. 23 William Carey at 7:30 for the top spot in the SSAC West division standings. Now at 15-4 this season, Loyola enters Monday's game with a 7-2 conference record, while William Carey is 8-1 in conference, their lone loss to the Pack on November 22.
The Barons got off to a fast start on Saturday, not missing a shot until almost six minutes into the game. This led to a 7-0 start and eventually a 14-4 lead for the Barons. But Loyola wasn't out of the game for long, as momentum swung back to the Pack with two big triples from Leonard Jackson and two buckets from Kameron Johnson to tie it at 14-all by the 13-minute mark. Loyola took its first lead a few moments later at 19-18, after Zachary Lee found Jaylen Peters for a dunk, Kosta Bjelicic hit a free throw, and Johnson drove for two.
Loyola steadily grew its lead over the remainder of the half. Consecutive three-pointers from Johnson and Cameron Williams put Loyola ahead 25-20 after the first 10 minutes, then a 14-2 run over the next five stretched the Wolf Pack advantage to 14 points at 39-25. A late Brewton-Parker surge saw the Barons cut into the lead, with the home team up 42-37 at half.
To start the second half, BPCU got within three points with an early layup, but buckets from Kosta Bjelicic and Jackson, followed by a three from Reece Seicshnaydre, separated the teams by double digits again, 51-41. Loyola's lead hovered around 7-10 points until about the 11-minute mark of the second half, after which the Barons were held scoreless for nearly four minutes and Peters, Johnson, Jackson, and Bjelicic each scored in an 8-0 run for the Pack.
The scoring drought for the Barons ended with about seven minutes left to play with a layup, but the Wolf Pack matched them with jump shots from Jackson and Johnson that got both players over 20 points for the game. Johnson's jumper extended Loyola's lead to 17 points at 74-57 with six minutes remaining, and it never dipped below double digits as the Pack locked up the win.
Pack Facts
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After dropping 16 points in the first half, Kameron Johnson finished the game with 25, plus eight rebounds, a game-high seven assists, and a steal. Johnson has scored at least 20 points in three straight games and four of the last five.
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Leonard Jackson sank five threes for the second consecutive game, finishing with 21 points. It's his third game this season with at least 20 points, and it's his 11th straight game in double figures.
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Kosta Bjelicic posted 12 points, his fifth straight game in double digits, to go along with eight rebounds.
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In just 12 minutes, Jaylen Peters was Loyola's fourth player in double figures, finishing with 10 points. He did not miss from the field (4-4) or the free throw line (2-2).
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In his return to the court, Zachary Lee recorded six points, four rebounds, two assists, and a game-high two steals.
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Loyola players combined for 20 assists against the Barons. It's the ninth game this season in which the Pack have totaled 20 or more assists as a team.
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