NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola University New Orleans men's basketball team improved its record to 18-5 overall and 10-3 in Southern States Athletic Conference with a 92-82 win over Abraham Baldwin (Ga.) on Thursday. The (RV) Wolf Pack will next entertain Thomas University (Ga.) in The Den on Saturday for a 2 p.m. SSAC contest.
It was a slow start for both teams, as ABAC built a 16-10 lead after 10 minutes of play. Loyola was just 2-for-9 from the floor with six turnovers over that span, making six of its 10 points from the free throw line. The Stallions made it a nine-point lead four minutes later, 27-18, but that's when the Wolf Pack started to flip the momentum. They won the final five minutes 23-8 to take a 41-35 lead at the break.
Kameron Johnson started the run, then Leonard Jackson and Zachary Lee both hit 3s to get the deficit down to three, 31-28. After Lee scored again, Jackson turned a steal into a score to put the Pack on top, 32-31. Kosta Bjelicic added four more points down the stretch to help gain the advantage by halftime.
Jackson quickly got things going for the Wolf Pack in the second half with a couple of 3s, and Cameron Williams added a tip-in after an offensive rebound, 49-36. Johnson made two more 3-pointers after that, then Jaylen Peters also tipped one in after another offensive board, 59-44. Lee made it five made 3s in the second half for the Pack at the 13:30 mark to give them a decisive advantage, 64-46.
Bjelicic scored six points over the next couple of minutes, and a Johnson free throw put Loyola ahead by 20, 74-54, at the nine-minute mark. A 3 by Reece Seicshnaydre made it a 21-point lead, 81-60, as Loyola's largest lead came with 3:47 on the clock when Peters pushed the lead to 24, 90-66. ABAC scored a couple of garbage-time buckets to make the score closer than it appeared.
Pack Facts
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Kameron Johnson tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points, adding a game-high seven assists.
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Johnson continues to climb the all-time Wolf Pack men's basketball leaderboards in assists. He has dished out a total of 145 assists this season, passing Zach Wrightsil and Torry Beaulieu for the third-most assists in a single season in Loyola history. He needs 15 more assists to break the record.
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Zachary Lee tied Johnson with a team-high 19 points, and he scored efficiently: 4-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 on three-pointers, and a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line.
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Kosta Bjelicic also had an efficient shooting night, going 6-for-8 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe. He added five rebounds and three assists.
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Leonard Jackson continued his hot shooting streak, going 3-for-8 from three-point range, outscoring the entire Stallions roster (2-for-8) from beyond the arc.
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Jackson finished with 15 points, extending his streak of double-digit scoring performances to 15 games. He added six rebounds, a steal, and a block.
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Loyola went 10-for-25 (40%) from the three-point line as a team on Thursday. It was the team's 11th time this season making at least 10 threes. Jackson, Johnson, Lee, and Reece Seicshnaydre all sank multiple shots from deep, while Apostolos Paziotopoulos made one.
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