Although two games were in New Orleans and two others were in Louisiana, Loyola men’s basketball lost its last four games, three of which were against National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I teams.

The team is still improving according to Loyola Head Coach Jerry Hernandez.

“We certainly would want to have more wins, but we’ve played pretty well,” he said. “We’re hanging in there with bigger teams.”

The Wolfpack lost to Tulane, 74-58, on Nov. 25 in Fogelman Arena.

Matt Truax, general business sophomore, scored a game-high 21 points. He was 8 for 12 from the field, including three three-point baskets.

The first half featured eight lead changes and four ties. In that half, Loyola led 27-24 after a made lay up by Truax at the 1:20 mark. However, Tulane led at half, 28-27.

With 17:03 to play in the game and the Wolfpack trailing, 35-33, the Green Wave went on a 24-6 run over the next 6:30 to extend the lead to 59-39.

“We followed our game plan by rebounding and defending,” Hernandez said. “They just wore us down.”

Chad Barnes added 20 points for Loyola on 7 for 19 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

Following Thanksgiving, Loyola welcomed Georgia Southwestern, to the Den but fell in a hard fought contest, 69-63.

The Hurricanes led 64-52 with one minute forty-one seconds remaining in the game, but the ‘Pack cut the lead to four points on a Powell three-pointer with 14.8 seconds left.

“There is a little four- to six-minute segment that gets us in a hole,” Hernandez said.

Georgia Southwestern, which received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25, got two free throws with 11 seconds on the clock to win, 69-63.

James Olivard, marketing freshman, recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The next night, Loyola fell to Nicholls State, 66-53, in Thibodeaux, although Barnes tied a school record with seven three-pointers in a game.

Barnes led all scorers with 27 points on 10 of 12 shooting from the field. Jonathan Hernandez, English writing junior, was second on the team with nine points. The ‘Pack trailed 26-20 at the half.

“You don’t win many games doing that,” coach Hernandez said, “but we were 13 for 31 from the three-point line.”

Loyola then fell to McNeese State, ranked 59th in the Ratings Percentage Index, 102-63, Monday in Lake Charles, La.

“The game was not nearly as bad as it looked,” Hernandez said. “They’re better than Tulane (who has an RPI rating of 239).”

The Cowboys (3-1) made 10 of their first 11 shots, but the Wolfpack was able to keep up early on in six of its first seven three-point attempts.

McNeese ended the first half on a 9-2 run to make the halftime score 49-35.

Olivard scored 15 points and grabbed four rebounds for the Wolfpack, who fell to 2-9.

The ‘Pack has four more games before conference play begins including two NCAA Division I opponents.

“We have a better opportunity to win. I keep telling [the team] that we’re getting better,” coach Hernandez said.