ALEXANDRIA, La. – The No. 14 Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team began the 2026-27 campaign on Thursday at LSU Alexandria. Loyola trailed for much of the game, taking a lead with 15 seconds left before surrendering a go-ahead layup with five seconds remaining to fall 85-84. 

The Wolf Pack will look for the season's first win at home on Monday, Oct. 26, when Texas College comes to The Den for a game scheduled for 7 p.m. 

Kameron Johnson hit a free throw for the first point of the game, followed by an old-fashioned three-point play by Kosta Bjelicic to put Loyola in front 4-3, but LSUA opened the game on a 10-4 run to take control for much of the first half. Loyola kept things close, however, as Johnson and newcomers Markuss Sipko and O'Neill Connolly combined to make three triples. Jaylen Peters added three baskets inside, and Johnson eventually tied the game on two free throws, 25-25, at the nine-minute mark. 

After Loyola tied the game, LSUA scored seven straight to go back ahead 32-25. The Generals lead would grow to as much as eight points at 41-33. Sipko knocked down a long step-back trey to end the cold spell, and Johnson added another three to cut the lead to two points at 43-41. The Generals went into halftime with a 45-41 lead despite 13 first-half points from Johnson. 

LSUA started strong in the second half, hitting back-to-back threes at the 17-minute mark to go up 55-48. Bjelicic contributed eight points and Johnson five as Loyola kept it close but still trailed by one, 62-61, at the 11-minute mark. After the under-10 timeout, Johnson found Reece Seicshnaydre in transition for a layup to keep the Pack within one at 64-63, but the Generals responded with seven straight to go up 71-63. 

Two straight layups from Bjelicic cut the deficit to three points at the six-minute mark, 74-71. Loyola continued to hang around, as Michael Mouton's first layup of the year got the Pack within one, 83-82, with a minute to go. With 15 seconds left, Bjelicic bullied his way to the basket for two, as the Wolf Pack took its first lead since the opening minutes at 84-83, but LSUA dropped in one final basket with five seconds left to get the win. 

Pack Facts

• Kosta Bjelicic poured in a career-high 29 points, scoring 22 of those in the second half. He also had a team-high seven rebounds. 

• Kameron Johnson was second on the team with 21 points, adding a team-high six assists. 

• Reece Seicshnaydre was the third Wolf Pack player in double figures, finishing with 10 points. 

• After starting and playing all 40 minutes, Markuss Sipko scored eight points in his Wolf Pack debut, all of which came in the first half. 

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.