NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Spring Hill College (SHC) men's basketball team lost a 56-51 non-conference decision versus the Loyola University (La.) Wolf Pack at The Den on Friday night as part of the Jesuit Basketball Spotlight (JBS) series sponsored by the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities (AJCU).
 
With 8½ minutes gone in the game, SHC led the Wolf Pack (6-4) 11-7, but Loyola would bounce back to take a 31-26 lead over the Badgers at halftime.
 
In the second half, Loyola built out a 40-32 bulge with 13 minutes left to play, but the Badgers clawed back to cut the deficit to 51-47 with 1:37 still on the clock.
 
SHC sophomore William Loyd completed a layup at 1:17 and junior Dwight Harris followed a blocked shot by Brandon Fischer with a layup on the other end to slice it to just a 53-51 Loyola advantage with 46 seconds remaining. Senior Walter Massey came down with a rebound of missed Wolf Pack shot at 30 seconds, but Harris would be whistled for an offensive foul on the other end with only 18 seconds showing.
 
Chase Eckholdt of Loyola made one free throw, but missed the second at 16 seconds with Massey once again bringing in the rebound. Out of a Badger timeout at 10 seconds, Fischer's 3-point attempt to tie the game would miss the mark as Ethan Turner came down with the rebound and salted away the game with two free throws at the 3-second mark.
 
As a team, SHC shot 42.9% (21-49) from the field and just 6.7% (1-15) from 3-point range. The Badgers suffered 27 turnovers versus 12 steals by Loyola while making 8-of-13 free throw attempts for a 61.5% showing at the charity stripe. Spring Hill won the rebounding war 40-27. Loyd paced the Badgers with 17 points and Massey hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Wolf Pack players shot 35.8% (19-53) overall and 35.7% (5-14) from 3-point distance while losing 16 turnovers to six Badger steals. Tyler Williams paced the Loyola offense with 21 points. The Wolfpack made 86.7% (13-15) of their free throws to provide the difference in the contest. Nick Park scored 17 points for the home team as Turner pitched in 10 more.
 
The Badgers (2-5) next visit the 25^th-ranked University of West Florida (UWF) Argonauts (8-0) in a non-conference game at the UWF Field House in Pensacola on Sunday at 4 p.m.
 
The 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States are located in 18 states and the District of Columbia. The institutions range from major research universities to comprehensive universities; from smaller colleges and universities that combine the liberal arts and professional studies to one strictly liberal arts college. In addition to being among 221 Catholic institutions and 1,600 independent colleges and universities in the United States, American Jesuit colleges and universities are part of a network of approximately 189 Jesuit institutions of higher learning throughout the world, thus having the distinction of being at once local, national and international.