Wolf Pack wins big on the road at LCU

PINEVILLE, La. – After two straight overtime wins, the Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball dominated Louisiana Christian University Thursday night, 85-51. The win moves the Pack to 4-1 overall with a matchup at No. 14 LSU Alexandria set for Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 

The Wildcats scored the game's first five points, but five points by the reigning NAIA Offensive Player of the Week, Kameron Johnson, helped give the Wolf Pack the lead, 8-7. That was the start of an 18-2 run that ate up eight minutes of game time, extending the Pack's lead to 18-7. It started with Kosta Bjelicic and ended with a 3-pointer by Eain Mowat, as LCU made just one of its 10 shots with six turnovers. 
 

After Louisiana Christian finally made a shot, Leonard Jackson hit a 3 to keep Loyola's momentum, then Jaylen Peters had Loyola's next six points, 29-11. Reece Seicshnaydre got in on the scoring action, as the Wolf Pack had eight different scorers in the first half to make it a 41-20 lead at the break. 
 

Cameron Williams made it nine Wolf Pack players with points in the first few minutes of the second half, and Zachary Lee became the first in double figures right after that with a pair of free throws, 48-23. A 3-pointer by Mowat kept it a 20-plus-point advantage at the 14-minute mark, and Johnson scored Loyola's next six points to also get into double figures, 59-35. 
 

Georgios Vassilakis scored, and more 3s by Mowat and Jackson set up seven straight points by Troy Thomas to put Loyola up 36, 79-43, with less than five minutes left on the clock. And finally, a score by Evan Savoy ended a 26-8 run that saw Loyola's lead get up to 38 before LCU added a couple of scores. Dominic Brown became the 12th different Wolf Pack player with points, with three in the final couple of minutes. 
 

Pack Facts

• The 34-point win Thursday was Loyola's largest margin of victory since the 2021-22 national championship season. 

• In Thursday's game, 12 different players scored at least a point. That's already the second time this season that's happened, as 13 Wolf Pack players scored in the win against Texas A&M San Antonio to open the season.

• Leading the way in scoring was reigning NAIA Offensive Player of the Week, Kameron Johnson, who made 6-of-9 attempts from the floor for 13 points, adding a game-high four assists, three rebounds, a steal, and a block as well. 

• Jaylen Peters put up a new season high of 11 points in just 15 minutes Thursday, going 5-of-7 from the field with seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. 

• Zachary Lee also scored in double figures, his fourth game in a row doing so, with 11 points. He also had three steals, which matched the entire team steals total from LCU. 

• Eain Mowat hit a trio of three-pointers, marking his second game in a row with at least three makes from deep. 

• Leonard Jackson knocked down a pair of three-pointers, one in each half, to bring his season total to six treys. 

• Troy Thomas hit a three late and matched his career high of seven points in just four minutes off the bench to end the game.

• Brody Adams was also effective on the boards in the game's final minutes, grabbing six rebounds in just three minutes of action.