Despite a late second-half resurgence, the men’s basketball team was unable to overcome William Carey’s 3-point game last Saturday in an 81-71 loss in the Den.
With lethal ability, William Carey was able to establish its outside shot early in the first half and rely on it throughout the game, closing deficits early and enlarging leads late. Meanwhile, Loyola had trouble getting its outside game going at any point in the contest.
The Crusaders outscored the ‘Pack 36-9 from behind the arc, making 12 of 22 attempts. Coach Michael Giorlando gave William Carey credit.
“We knew certain players could definitely hit the three,” Giorlando said. “They just got hot; to do that on the road is a hard thing. We tried to adjust, but it was just too late.”
Torry Beaulieu, elementary education freshman, and Luke Zumo, general studies sophomore, shouldered Loyola’s late rally.
Zumo did so off his ability to hit a number of mid-range jumpers and his relentless driving to the lane that got him to the foul line. He led Loyola with 25 points and was 9-of-10 from the foul stripe. Beaulieu finished with 23 points, five assists and six steals.
Loyola commandeered an early lead thanks to buckets down low and the transition game on its first five possessions.
Forward Mario Faranda, finance sophomore, dropped in two easy finishes under the basket, and guards Zumo and Beaulieu connected for easy lay-ups in transition, capitalizing on Carey’s early turnovers and bad shot selection.
Coupled with a 6:30 scoreless drought by William Carey, the ‘Pack darted to a 14-6 lead with 11:26 left in the opening period.
It was downhill from there, though, as Renaldo Dorsey and Scotty Fletcher’s 3-point game ignited while Loyola’s production down low and its transition game halted.
Carey hit three 3-pointers in a row to level off the score at 18-18 with 8:23 left to counter Loyola’s early upstart.
Carey contained forwards Faranda, James Olivard, Bear Wurts and Jon Creel to a total of 12 points in the game, rendering Loyola’s scoring down low irrelevant.
Coupled with Loyola’s struggles to establish a perimeter game (Zumo went 2-9 from three-point range in the contest) the rest of the half and starting the second half while Carey scored from the perimeter at will, the Crusaders ballooned their lead to a deficit as large as 47-35 with 14:10 left in the second half.
Loyola resurged at that point, scoring on five of their next six possessions to kick-start a 10-4 run, a stretch that was tail-ended by guard Sam Williams’s courageous drive to the top of the key and his pull-up jumper finish to bring Loyola within four (45-49).
Struggling to stay close, Loyola managed to knot the score at 65-65 with 4:08 left after a stretch that saw Zumo accumulate 11 points and saw the ‘Pack tally three steals on three straight Carey possessions.
But then Faranda fouled out, Loyola’s shot selection soured (five scoreless possessions followed Zumo’s brilliant stretch, all ending in missed shots and a turnover in the paint), and Carey continued to enjoy its unrestrained 3-point scoring as the game wound down to its final 81-71 tally.
“A lot of times I think we should have got into the lane. That’s where we had most of our success early in the game,” said Zumo, regarding Loyola’s inefficiency from the perimeter.
“I was proud of our comeback, but we need to keep our emotions on an even-keel,” commented Coach Giorlando concerning the Wolfpack’s see-saw performace: its guns-blazing scoring runs that were obliterated by stretches of inefficient finishing and perimeter defending. “We just weren’t tough enough to withstand their run (after the 65-65 tie).”
He also credited the crowd for the inspired rally both Zumo and Beaulieu embodied. “We had a great crowd, and we want to encourage them to keep coming out.”
The 1-4 Wolfpack’s next game at the Den is against Spring Hill on Feb. 6.
Ramon Vargas can be reached at [email protected].
