NEW ORLEANS – The No. 14 Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team earned its third consecutive win Saturday, defeating Southern University at New Orleans, 78-75. Jaylen Peters threw down a go-ahead dunk with less than three minutes remaining, then came up with a crucial block in the final seconds to help Loyola improve to 3-1 overall. 

The Wolf Pack will return to The Den at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3, for a rematch with LSU Alexandria, the only team to beat Loyola this season. 

Loyola got off to a solid start, as Kosta Bjelicic scored the game's first points before baskets by O'Neill Connolly and Kameron Johnson gave Loyola a 6-2 lead. Bjelicic picked up two early fouls, though, and the Knights scored five straight to take a 7-6 advantage. Two free throws by Johnson put Loyola back in front, 8-7, then the teams traded 6-0 scoring runs, with the Pack leading 14-13 at the first media timeout. 

SUNO took control for a significant portion of the first half until a late Wolf Pack surge saw the Pack regain the advantage. With the Knights leading 26-22 with six minutes left in the half,  Bjelicic made two free throws to start a 7-0 Loyola run, then Michael Mouton hit the Pack's first 3-pointer of the game to give Loyola a 27-26 lead with 4:32 on the clock. Johnson followed with a layup, 29-26, and added another basket a couple of minutes later to keep Loyola ahead, 31-28. Markuss Sipko then connected from long range to make it 34-29 with less than two minutes remaining, and after SUNO answered with a 3, Sipko hit another from deep in the final 15 seconds. The Knights scored once more before the break, but Loyola held a 37-34 halftime lead. 

The Wolf Pack carried that momentum into the second half, scoring nine of the first 11 points to take a 46-36 lead. Lee scored five points during that stretch, including a 3-pointer, while Bjelicic made four free throws. Lee and Connolly added baskets to keep Loyola ahead by nine, 50-41, and another free throw by Bjelicic made it 51-43 with more than 15 minutes left in the game.

While the Knights were able to tie the game with an 8-0 scoring stretch, and they kept things close for the next several minutes, the Wolf Pack again opened up a sizable lead, as Mouton hit two big threes to make the score 69-61 right before the six-minute mark. 

SUNO battled back again, tying the game at 71-71 and later taking the lead at 75-74 with less than three minutes to go. 

After SUNO missed two straight free throws, Johnson found Peters for a huge dunk to put the Wolf Pack ahead 76-75 at the 2:30 mark. Neither team was able to score again until 17 seconds remained, and Markuss Sipko extended the Loyola advantage to 78-75 with two important free throws. SUNO's Jaylon Hicks, who had scored 21 points in the game, attempted a driving dunk with five seconds left but was met at the rim by Peters, who collected his third block of the game and regained possession for the Wolf Pack to help seal the win. 

Pack Facts

• In addition to his game-winning dunk and game-sealing block, Jaylen Peters also recorded a new career high in rebounds with 13. 

• Zachary Lee led the Wolf Pack with 17 points, scoring 14 of those in the second half while shooting 8-of-9 from the free throw line. He also came down with nine rebounds.

• Kosta Bjelicic went 10-of-12 at the free throw line, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. 

• Playing all 40 minutes, Kameron Johnson led all players with eight assists while also putting up 13 points, five rebounds, and two steals. 

• With eight assists in back-to-back games, Johnson is now up to 408 total assists in his collegiate career. He moved up in the Wolf Pack record book and is now third in career assists at Loyola. 

• O'Neill Connolly hit double figures in scoring for the second time in four games this season, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds. 

• With a team-high three makes from behind the arc, Michael Mouton posted nine points to go along with three rebounds. Markuss Sipko also made a pair of threes, finishing with eight total points. 

• Loyola collected 58 rebounds as a team compared to just 35 for SUNO, with a 22-6 advantage on the offensive glass. Loyola has now out-rebounded its last two opponents by at least 20 boards. 

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