MONTGOMERY, Ala. – In an SSAC Championship quarterfinal match up that started just after midnight, the Life University Running Eagles took down the Loyola Wolf Pack, 69-60, early Friday morning in Montgomery, Alabama.
The Wolf Pack (22-7) will find out their potential NAIA National Championship tournament destination on Thursday, March 5, at 6 p.m. on the NAIA's YouTube page.
Both teams struggled to make shots early in the game, with the score reading 6-2 in Life's favor after five minutes of play. After Kameron Johnson made the first two shots, Georgios Vassilakis and Jaylen Peters got the game tied at 6-6 and 8-8. Johnson put Loyola ahead, 10-8, at the 13-minute mark, but the Running Eagles used an 11-2 run over nearly four minutes of game time to push back ahead, 19-12, with nine minutes until halftime.
Reece Seicshnaydre made Loyola's first 3 on its 10th try, 23-17, with six and a half minutes left on the clock, however, the Pack didn't get another field goal for the next three minutes when Leonard Jackson kept Loyola within seven, 28-21. It was a tough close to the first half for Loyola, as it went into the break trailing 35-23.
Zachary Lee and Johnson both hit 3-pointers to start the second half, as the two combined for nine of Loyola's first 13 points to cut the deficit five, 41-36, less than five minutes into the new period. Johnson helped keep Loyola within single digits over the next couple of minutes, then Kosta Bjelicic made a bucket to bring Life's lead down to five again, 49-44, near the 10-minute mark.
Back-to-back 3-pointers for Life hurt the Wolf Pack's momentum, as Loyola never got within five again for the rest of the game. A score by Johnson made it a seven-point game, 55-48, and the same was true when Seicshnaydre made another 3, 59-52, with six minutes left. Life pushed its advantage to 15, 68-53, with less than three minutes to go en route to its win.
Pack Facts
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Playing all 40 minutes, Kameron Johnson led all scorers with 26 points, adding four assists.
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Johnson has scored 518 points this season, entering the top 20 in single-season points in the Wolf Pack record book.
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Kosta Bjelicic had a game-high 14 rebounds to go along with nine points.
Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 25
Game 1 | West #4 Mobile def. East #5 Thomas, 73-69
Game 2 | West #5 UT Southern def. East #4 Point, 81-76
Thursday, Feb. 26
Game 3 | East #3 Brewton-Parker def. West #2 Faulkner, 77-56
Game 4 | East #1 Dalton State def. West #4 Mobile, 95-93
Game 5 | West #1 William Carey def. West #5 UT Southern, 99-86
Game 6 | East #2 Life vs. West #3 Loyola | 9:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 27
Game 7 | East #3 Brewton-Parker vs. East #1 Dalton State | 3:00 p.m.
Game 8 | West #1 William Carey vs. East #2 Life | 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 28
Championship | Game 7 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner | 6:30 p.m.
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