Star forward Mario Faranda and the Loyola Wolfpack messed with Texas … College early on before unraveling on Saturday night and dropping their first home stand at The Den this season 73-62.

Texas College’s Mike Dale, a point guard as tall as Faranda that scorched the nets with 33 points and hauled down 9 rebounds, presented a riddle the Wolfpack never solved in the course of the game.

While trying to contain Dale’s scoring pace, coach Michael Giorlando exposed his team to open looks from the outside and in the paint.

The Steers exploited those openings to the fullest, posting an impressive 53.8 percent from three-point range.

“(Double-teaming Dale on the perimeter and inside) exposed our weakside. Trying to neutralize Dale, because he’s such an effective scorer, that’s some of the things you take a chance on. And other times, we were right where we needed to be and they knocked shots down. Give them credit. They got in a rhythm and got hot,” Giorlando said.

Texas College also kept Loyola’s ace back-court scorer Luke Zumo, psychology junior, at bay, limiting him to just six shots and seven points on the night. They also baited him into foul trouble early on (though he managed 35 minutes). That limited his ability to drive to the basket and draw shooting fouls, which is how Zumo damages his opponents the most.

“We kept going inside because that’s where we were productive, which kept me from taking too many shots,” Zumo said. “They also played good team defense, so you got to hand it to them.”

Loyola also shot its free throws poorly – they turned in a 53.3 free-throw percentage.

“You have to make them at home, especially in crunch time. I don’t understand – the other night (against UNO) we shot exceptionally. Tonight, for whatever reason, they didn’t go in. In order to win tight games, that’s one of the small things you need to do,” Giorlando said.

Loyola powered its way to a 17-4 lead early in the first half, with Faranda scoring post shots around the basket and off the glass. During two instances in the first half, he drew charges on the defense end and finished baskets on the ensuing offensive possession.

“I depend on getting the ball inside, and my teammates are good at getting me the ball, so credit to them,” Faranda, finance junior, said on the scores from the charges he drew.

Faranda continued his impressive post play and generated his second double-double of the season, tallying 18 points and 14 rebounds.

When Giorlando rested Faranda and substituted general business junior Nick Tuszynski in, the ‘Pack didn’t lose a step in terms of scoring. Tuszynski connected on five-of-his six shots in the game for 11 points but could only record a pair of rebounds.

“He knows his role on the team and when he was open, he shot the ball with confidence,” Faranda said about his backup.

Guards Torry Beaulieu, history sophomore, and James Bunn, accounting senior, disrupted Texas College’s offensive flow. They snagged errant passes in mid-air and wrestled animalistically for loose balls, creating breakaway chances the Wolfpack capitalized to establish the sizeable lead.

Bunn scored 15 points and three of his seven three-point attempts. He also recorded a team-leading three steals.

Political science junior David Curtin, starting for injured general business junior Carter Wurts, attempted and bucketed his only shot in this early stretch.

But then Dale ignited Texas College’s engines and they overtook Loyola mostly through the three-point ball.

He scored 8 points and back-to-back three pointers in the last 2 minutes of the half to put Texas College ahead 34-31, a lead they didn’t relinquish the rest of the way.

In the second half, Loyola stuck around the Steers thanks largely to Bunn and Faranda.

Bunn tied the game at 36 after intercepting a pass alongside the scorer’s table. He stole it and motorcycled to the basket unchallenged.

Later, down 59-54, he generated another fast-break thanks to another steal. Bunn pump-faked a shot, attracted the Texas College defender toward him, and dealt an unmarked Faranda a pass under the basket.

Faranda elevated and thunderously dunked the ball through the rim, fabricating an eruption in The Den as Texas College called a timeout – unfortunately, that’s as close as Loyola came to re-claiming the lead they’d muscled their way to in the first half.

“That’s a momentum changer. It’s too bad we couldn’t keep playing off that,” Faranda said, “but I credit my teammates (for generating the play).”