The Wolfpack lost a heartbreaker to Xavier 66-64 Wednesday night in the Barn. The ‘Pack started strong, running up a substantial lead in the first half. Solid interior play helped to control Xavier’s post offense and limit scoring opportunities inside.
“We made their post players score under duress,” Coach Michael Giorlando said.
Second chance opportunities were hard to come by for Xavier early on, limited to two offensive rebounds the entire half. Loyola maintained the lead and entered halftime ahead 32-27.
Xavier came back in the second half, grabbing the offensive rebounds that had eluded it in the first half. The game was neck and neck until the final minute, when Loyola found itself down by two points. The team had an opportunity to tie the game on a 15-foot jump shot at the buzzer, but it was no good. Giorlando considered it a tough loss, but was “proud of the way the guys fought to the end.”
The ‘Pack had a strong shooting night, going 51 percent from the field and 63 percent from behind the arc. General business freshman Luke Zumo was a crucial part of the team’s perimeter offense and also had four assists. Marketing senior Daniel Schmidt led the team with five assists.
The end of the season has been up and down for the Wolfpack men with Saturday’s upset of No. 10 Louisiana State University Shreveport 73-72 in the Den.
It was a team effort with all five starters scoring in double digits.
The score remained close for most of the game, the lead constantly changing between the two squads.
Loyola’s most comfortable lead was five points midway through the second half. Zumo’s 3-pointer with less than two minutes to play gave the Wolfpack a 73-70 lead. Derrick Rogers was fouled by management senior Zack Tyson on the next possession and converted two free throws to pull the Pilots within a point. The team would have opportunities to convert from the free throw line, but four straight misses sealed the win for Loyola. Two of the four missed shots came from conference scoring leader Fredericko Payne with 15 seconds left.
Tyson led the ‘Pack with 16 points and seven rebounds. Olivard and Schmidt each had 12 points. The team shot 50 percent from the field and over 60 percent from the 3-point line. The ‘Pack’s defense held Payne to 15 points, well under his conference-leading average of 29.5 points per game.
Giorlando praised James Bunn’s defense against the LSU-Shreveport star but spoke highly of the team’s effort as a whole.
“We did a great job of implementing the game plan to stop their scorers, especially Fredericko Payne,” Giorlando said. “We played for 40 minutes against a team that wanted to win very badly, but we refused to lose.”
Defeat came last Thursday night at Dent Hall, with the ‘Pack losing to Dillard 73-61.
The Blue Devils took the initiative from the opening tip and controlled the game. The Wolfpack did not appear as prepared to play early in the ballgame as its city rivals, a fact that Giorlando acknowledged.
“I did a poor job of getting our team ready against one of the top teams,” he said.
The ‘Pack came to life in the second half, but found itself too far behind to make a comeback. Giorlando spoke about the need to compete from the start, instead of trying to close a gap. “We have to match the opponent’s level of intensity.”
Despite the loss, two Loyola players had standout performances.
Marketing senior James Olivard led all scorers with 26 points, shooting 80 percent from the floor.
Management junior James Bunn contributed 19 points and shot 70 percent from the free throw line. Keydrick Williams led Dillard with 21 points and seven rebounds. Alfredo Ott, the team’s season leader in scoring and steals, had nine points and six steals.
Loyola’s record stands at 11-19, with a conference record of 4-14.
Chris Liuzza can be reached at [email protected].
