No. 2 Loyola earns road win at William Carey

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The No. 2 Loyola Wolf Pack took care of business Thursday night at Southern States Athletic Conference rival William Carey, taking down the Crusaders 78-71 to earn their 12th straight win to start the season. Loyola (12-0, 3-0 in SSAC) is now the highest-ranked undefeated team in the NAIA and it has the longest winning streak in the NAIA.

The Wolf Pack will next travel to LSU Shreveport Thursday, Dec. 9, for the second matchup of the season for the two teams. The Pack earned an 87-79 victory on Thursday, Nov. 4, in New Orleans.

Loyola got the game’s first five points with a bucket by Zach Wrightsil and a 3-pointer from Brandon Davis, holding William Carey without a point for the first two and a half minutes. A dunk by Wrightsil made it a 7-2 game, but the Crusaders came back to take their first lead, 12-10, five minutes into the contest.

The two teams stayed close for the majority of the first half, as the Pack took a 25-19 lead with 7:21 left. Loyola used four 3s to take that lead with Andrew Fava and Josh Leaney each making one while Davis sank back-to-back 3s. William Carey, though, tied the game, 29-29, with four-plus minutes to go, but Loyola scored the final 10 points of the half to take a 39-29 lead into the locker room. Davis started that run, then Wrightsil scored twice and Myles Burns and Zach Muller each made a shot.

The Wolf Pack came out strong on the defensive end to start the second half, holding the Crusaders to just eight points while forcing four turnovers in the first 10 minutes. During that time, the Pack built a 53-37 lead to grab control of the game, using four different scorers in the process. Burns started things off, followed by a pair of free throws by Wrightsil. Terry Smith Jr. got on the board, too, and Davis connected on another 3-pointer.

Loyola continued to hold a double-digit lead, as four free throws by Fava and five consecutive points by Davis allowed the Pack to sit with a 66-53 advantage with 4:16 to play. Back-to-back 3s by Fava and Davis made it a 16-point lead with 90 seconds to go, but the Crusaders found some points late in the game to cut Loyola’s lead to seven by the time the clock hit zero.

PACK FACTS
As has been the case in all but one game this season, Loyola once again reached double digits in team steals. The team totaled 12 teals, led by Zach Wrightsil’s five swipes.

Wrightsill filled up the box score, putting up 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and five steals.

The senior now has 1,640 points in his Wolf Pack career, moving him up to fourth on Loyola’s all-time scoring list.

Loyola was led in scoring on Thursday by Brandon Davis, who finished with 24 points, six rebounds, and three assists while knocking down five triples.

Davis, who has hit five treys in back-to-back contests, is shooting 48.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Andrew Fava also was hot from deep, sinking four triples and finishing with 18 points and four steals. He’s hit 41 shots from long range this season, which ranks third in the NAIA.

Fava also etched his name in the Loyola record book, as he’s now 10th in career three-pointers made with 132 for his Wolf Pack career.

You can keep up with the Pack by following Wolf Pack Athletics on Facebook at Facebook.com/LoyolaWolfPack, Twitter and Instagram @LoyolaWolfPack, and by checking out our website at LoyolaWolfPack.com.