The Loyola men’s basketball team opened up the 2016-2017 season with a 74-60 win over Carver Bible College. Johnny Griffin Jr recorded his first double double of the season as he finished with 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in the win.

Both teams went back and forth in the first 10 minutes of play but Loyola closed the first half with a 22-6 run that gave them a 38-22 lead heading into halftime.

The Wolf Pack got out off to a fast start in the second half as they were able to extend the lead to 27 but Carver bounced back and cut the lead to 17 with a little under seven minutes left to play.

Carver managed to pull within 12 with 3:04 to go but Loyola was able to hold of the Cougars in the final minutes to secure their first victory of the season.

Nick Parker and Griffin Jr. led the way for the Wolf Pack finishing with 16 points each. Jalen Gray put together a great all-around performance tallying with 13 points, a team-high eight assists, five rebounds, and two steals. Eric Brown came off the bench and chipped in as he finished with seven points and four rebounds in the win.

“We executed well and we rebounded the ball fairly well. At times we were not as engaged. We have the potential to be pretty good but we only got to see parts of that tonight,” said head coach, Stacy Hollowell.

Griffin was pleased with the way the team played but admitted that the team let up in the second half of tonight’s win.

“I think it was a good team effort. Everybody played hard on both ends of the floor but there were a couple of moments in the game where we let up but we’re gonna learn from it,” said Griffin Jr.

The Wolf Pack advance to 1-0 on the season and will host LSU-Alexandria on Saturday, Oct. 29 in the Den. Tip off is set for 4 pm.