NEW ORLEANS – The Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball team proved for the second straight game it can outlast its opponent. After a four-overtime win last week over Xavier, the Wolf Pack took down Southern University at New Orleans in double overtime on Monday. Loyola won the non-conference matchup 96-95 to improve its record to 3-1.
Monday started a five-game stretch away from The Den, as the Wolf Pack will now travel to Louisiana Christian and LSU Alexandria on Thursday and Saturday.
It was a sluggish start for both teams, but the Wolf Pack held a 7-4 lead at the first media timeout (14:34). The Knights were 2-of-8 shooting while Loyola made three of its first 10 shots, as Zachary Lee had five of those points with a 3-pointer. Loyola went on a scoring drought after that, but its defense kept it in the game. Jaylen Peters scored at the 9:34 mark to cut SUNO's lead to four, 14-10, then a 3 by Eain Mowat a couple of minutes later kept Loyola close, 18-13.
The two teams traded baskets, with Kosta Bjelicic scoring on back-to-back possessions, and a layup by Cameron Williams made the deficit four, 23-19, with a little over five minutes until halftime. SUNO had a strong finish to the half, outscoring the Pack 17-9 the rest of the way. Lee had six of Loyola's final nine points to bring the score to 40-29 at the break.
The Wolf Pack used free throws from Bjelicic, Williams and Lee to hang with the Knights in the first couple of minutes, but the hosts eventually extended its lead to 15, 48-33, three and a half minutes into the second half.
From there, the Wolf Pack got hot shooting the ball over the next six-plus minutes. They made eight of their next 12 shots to make it a one-point ballgame, 59-58, with less than nine minutes to go. Mowat started the 25-11 run with a 3, then he hit another one from long range a couple of minutes later. Six free throws and a field goal by Lee cut SUNO's lead to four, 55-51, and two Kameron Johnson 3-pointers moved the Knights' lead down to two, 58-56. A Peters bucket ended that run, 59-58, as SUNO got its lead back out to multiple possessions, 65-61 with 6:42 on the clock.
Finally, Loyola took its first lead since early in the first half when Williams nailed a late-in-the-shot-clock 3-pointer, 66-65, with less than five minutes remaining. The rest of regulation featured three lead changes with Lee and Johnson both scoring five points each to get the game to an extra period. After SUNO took a lead in the final minute, Johnson, again, came up clutch with the game-tying bucket to even the score at 77-all. The junior had two free throws in the final seconds of last week's four-overtime win.
There wasn't much separation between Loyola and SUNO in the first overtime period. Georgios Vassilakis got the scoring started for the Pack, but the Knights went back up with consecutive made baskets, 81-79. After a free throw by Peters, Mowat got Loyola back in the lead, however, that didn't last long with SUNO taking an 84-82 advantage at the 1:30 mark. Bjelicic tied it with 27 seconds left, and neither team could find the go-ahead bucket to send the game into double overtime.
Lee got to 31 points early in the second overtime, converting an old-fashioned 3-point play to put the Pack on top, 87-85, then Mowat hit another 3 to make it a five-point lead. With Loyola leading by six, SUNO went on a 7-2 run to trim its deficit to one, 93-92, with 20 seconds to go, but free throws by Mowat and Lee iced the game.
Pack Facts
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Zachary Lee surpassed his previous career high of 30 points with 36 against the Knights. Lee was 9-of-15 from the field and 17-of-22 at the charity stripe, including the pair of free throws in double OT that sealed the win.
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Lee also contributed five rebounds and six assists, and he did not commit a single personal foul.
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Making his season debut, Eain Mowat poured in 18 points, knocking down four of his eight attempts from distance. He also tied with Cameron Williams for the team high in rebounds with seven boards.
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For the second game in a row, Kameron Johnson scored 15 points in the second half to help Loyola reach overtime, He also led the game in steals (3) while adding six assists, three rebounds, and a block.
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Johnson has officially entered the top 10 in career assists at Loyola with 224 dimes so far.
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Kosta Bjelicic was efficient from the field, connecting on five of his seven shots and four of his five free throw attempts for 14 points.
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As a team, Loyola blocked five shots, with Jaylen Peters accounting for two of those swats plus two steals. The team also totaled 12 steals, with Lee, Johnson, Mowat, Peters, and Williams each having at least two takeaways.
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