Zumo shot 7 of 15 from the field and 5 of 8 from behind the arc. He converted both free throws that he attempted and led the Wolfpack on the boards with five rebounds. Torry Beaulieu was the only other Loyola player in double digits. He scored 15 points on six of eight shooting from the field.
Southern Miss had six players in double digits including Demar Dotson, who led the Eagles with 14 points. He shot five of nine from the field and had eight rebounds. Andre Stephens had a double double 11 points and grabbed a game high 10 rebounds.
Loyola scored the first six points of the contest capped by a jumper by Beaulieu at the 16:12 mark to give Loyola an early lead- the largest of the game for the Wolfpack.
Loyola last enjoyed an advantage with 10:08 to play in the opening period as Sean Bennett hit a jumper to make the score 16-15. USM answered on the ensuing possession with a three pointer by Jeremy Wise.
Loyola responded to tie the game on three other occasions- the last coming with 2:01 in the first half as James Bunn hit a shot to tie the score 29-29.
In the second half, the Wolfpack closed to within a point as Mario Faranda scored on the opening possession of the half to tighten the gap to 32-31 with 19:44 to play.
“Against tough man to man pressure, I thought our guards played well on the offensive end tonight. Luke and Torry showed composure against their pressure. We were disappointed that we could not control the boards in the second half- that rebounding advantage was the difference in the game. I was very pleased with our new players that got an opportunity tonight. Sean Bennett, Nick Tusynski, Matt McCabe, and McArthur Strickland each did some really good things. We’ll put this exhibition behind us and focus on our next opponent Wiley at home Thursday,” said Loyola coach Michael Giorlando.
Loyola trailed 32-29 after the first half, but was outscored 55-38 in the second half. USM grabbed 44 rebounds on the evening to 22 by the Wolfpack.
Loyola will return to action on Thursday against Wiley College in The Den. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
For more information on Wolfpack Athletics please see http://wolfpack.loyno.edu, the GCAC- http://gcaconf.com, and the NAIA- http://naia.org.
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