The ‘Pack lost its chance to gain the seventh seed in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament when it lost to Talladega on Saturday, Feb. 23.The loss forced the ‘Pack to play in the opening game of the GCAC tournament on Tuesday in the Alario Center. The opening game pits the number eight and nine seeds against each other for the right to play the number one team in the tournament bracket.The ‘Pack took on William Carey for the right to continue in the tournament. The two teams split the two regular season contests with the home teams prevailing victorious.The ‘Pack took the game from the Crusaders, 64-61, who were short-handed due to grades. According to head coach Hernandez, the Crusaders only came with six players because four of the players did not achieve the required grade point average to continue playing. “It was a very difficult game to play, because it was such a no-win situation,” he said. “If you win, it is no big deal, because we were supposed to win.”The ‘Pack recorded four players in double figures. Jonathan Hernandez, English writing sophomore, led the team with 20 points including two baskets from behind the arc. Matt Truax, general business freshman, followed with a double double of 18 points and 10 rebounds. The scoring was rounded out by Brian Bowers, computer science senior, and Chad Barnes, management freshman, wth 10 points apiece.The win extends the ‘Pack’s season for at least one more game. The team was scheduled to play Southern University of New Orleans yesterday at 8 p.m. at the Alario Center in the opening round of the GCAC tournament. Although SUNO is the number one seed in the conference, coach Hernandez was not worried about the game.”I would rather be in our shoes than SUNO’s,” he said. “The key to this game is for our players to play all out 100 percent with no fear of failure.”Just the day before the beginning of the tournament, the GCAC released the names of the All-Conference selections for this season. Barnes was the ‘Pack’s sole selection to the team. Barnes has 485 points on the season, good for eighth all-time in Loyola’s single season history. He is also the all-time leading freshman scorer. Before any honors were given out, the ‘Pack finished up their regular season schedule.In Loyola’s last home game of the year, a supportive homecoming crowd helped the team provide some exciting shots and even five extra minutes of basketball action.The ‘Pack forced overtime against the University of Mobile on Feb. 21, but fell in the final second, 74-71.”I’m proud of the guys for coming back and playing as hard as they did,” coach Hernandez said.The ‘Pack trailed by 13 points with less than 12 minutes to play in the game. Hernandez hit a long three-pointer in the middle of the second half, which ignited the ‘Pack comeback, according to coach Hernandez.”I think when Jonathan hit that long three-pointer, the crowd went wild and stayed that way for the rest of the game,” coach Hernandez said. “I can’t tell you what that meant.”Zack Tyson, general business freshman, tied the score with 31 seconds left in the game. Tyson nailed two free throws, and the ‘Pack stopped Mobile on the last possession of the half. Regulation ended with a 63-63 tie.In the overtime period, the ‘Pack fell behind again, but with 15 seconds, Hernandez hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the game at 71.On the ensuing possession, Mobile’s Seluynn Palmer hit a three-pointer from the far corner as the clock ran down to give Mobile the 74-71 win. According to coach Hernandez, the shot was well defended.”He [Palmer] nailed the shot,” he said. “We had him covered well, but he just made a very difficult shot.”Barnes led the ‘Pack with 20 points on seven of 11 shooting from the field. Hernandez followed with 16 points, 11 of which came in the last seven minutes. Ian Kincaid, finance junior, added 13 points off the bench.After the loss to Mobile, Loyola hit the road to battle for the seventh seed in the GCAC. With a win against the Tornadoes, the ‘Pack would avoid competing in a play-in game for the right to be the challenger of the number one in the GCAC tournament.In another close contest, the game slipped away in the final minute, 72-68.The team went on a 13-2 run to overcome an 11-point deficit and tie the game at 62-62 with just three minutes to play.According to coach Hernandez, poor running of the scorer’s table was a big issue in the final moments.”We took the lead 68-67 with under two minutes to play,” coach Hernandez said, “but there was a game stoppage because the 35-second clock was not running. It was like a timeout for them, and we were not able to hit any shots after the stoppage.”In the later minutes, the lead changed hands five times, and the game was deadlocked four times. In the final minute, Talladega’s Dion Simpson nailed two of his 11 free throws for the game to give the Tornadoes the lead, 70-68, one that Talladega would not relinquish.Barnes once again led the ‘Pack with 23 points, followed by Hernandez with 15. The ‘Pack ended the regular season with a record of 8-24 overall, 3-13 in conference play.

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