MONTGOMERY, Ala. – With the national No. 1 team Loyola coming to town, a squad that this receiving votes Faulkner team witnessed shoot the lights out of its opponents in the Battle at the Beach, Coach
Scott Sanderson's team would need to come out much better than it did at home against No. 3 Talladega last month. The 16-0 Wolf Pack, a squad that has regularly had four seniors or redshirt seniors in its starting lineup this year and successfully built a juggernaut over the last few years, was ranked in that coveted spot for good reason after reaching the national quarterfinals last season; 26-2 Faulkner, meanwhile, failed to get past the Round of 16. Only one of Loyola's games this season was decided by less than seven points. The Wolf Pack currently sit at fifth nationally in shot attempts per game with 70.8, 19th in three-pointers attempted per game with 27.3 and ninth in points per game with 87.9.
What's more, some revenge was at stake. The Eagles lost in the last meeting between these conference rivals, their last game before the shutdown in the 2020 SSAC Tournament, to have that historic season ended prematurely with a bad taste in their mouths. The Eagles were favored in that one, though, and few were likely giving the home team a chance this time around. But the team didn't listen to the doubters. They believed.
These Eagles could. And these Eagles did. Make that 16-1.
When the rollercoaster night was finished, Faulkner had a 92-73 upset win over Loyola at Tine Davis Gymnasium on Monday, and the hosts only trailed once. On a night where the Eagles made just a third of its three-point shots, it was offense from just inside the arc and in the paint that proved lethal, with the team shooting 54.2%. Although they had more turnovers than the visiting team, the Eagles showed impressive ball handling against a ferocious press defense, drawing 28 fouls to their own 19 and making 34 of 41 free throw attempts for a highly impressive 82.9%. Despite allowing the playmakers to continue doing so, the team displayed its selfless offensive identity in having 13 assists to Loyola's seven. The defense also played lights out, holding the high-octane Wolf Pack attack, which attempted 59 shots to Faulkner's 48 and 30 three-balls to the latter's 18, to a 35.6% mark from the field and a mere 20% from three. The Eagles dominated the glass as well, grabbing 41 rebounds, 34 of them defensive, to Loyola's 29.
Usually a statistical leader,
C.J. Hines was unable to produce with Loyola teeing off on him and only attempted three shots. His seven points were all free throws, but he led the team with 11 boards, as well as a pair each in assists, blocks and steals.
Jalon Perry, the super senior grad transfer, was clutch, racking up 27 points on 11 of 19 attempted baskets, along with two assists and three rebounds.
Daniel Garmendia stepped up as well, matching Perry's mark on seven of 11 shots, with four boards and two assists. Both had season highs and made or came close to career days. Garmendia broke his previous high of 21 against Brewton-Parker last year. Perry surpassed his mark of 24 set against Mobile in November, and today's performance is second only to his 34-point outing against Dalton State last February while at Florida College.
Trace Hill tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and six dimes.
Jamel Cleveland and
Isaiah Brooks each contributed five boards; the latter also had seven points, a block and two steals.
Brandon Davis, the only underclassman starting for Loyola, led the team with 23 points, despite only making three of 17 field goals; the total was boosted by him going to the stripe a whopping 20 times. He added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Zach Wrightsil was as advertised, racking up 18 points, nine boards and three dimes. Terry Smith Jr. scored nine points and five boards. Three players, Andrew Fava, Zach Muller and Jalen Galloway, saw their only points came from threes.
Faulkner took advantage of a turnover and a foul to open the scoring via Hill and Perry buckets. After Loyola pulled to within 6-5, another score for both Perry and Hill, the latter set up by a Brooks steal, bookended nine consecutive points that put Faulkner up 15-5. A Muller travel and a Hines interception of a pass led to a Garmendia jumper and three, respectively. The Wolf Pack would not go away that easily, as an 18-7 run gave them their first lead of the day at 23-22 with 6:43 until halftime, with eight of the points scored by Wrightsil and a pair of triples in the span from Galloway. However, that lead did not last long, as
Austin Rogers hit a three of his own just over 30 seconds later.
Wrightsil tied it back and would have had a chance to put his team back on top with the and-one, but missed the foul shot. After the miss, Hill was given the inbound and chucked a dime for Garmendia down at the opposing free throw line for the easy layup and the permanent lead. After a couple of foul shots, Fava, a former Florida Gator, brought his team back to within one at 29-28 with his three, but a free throw and a Perry jumper got the three points back. After a trade of turnovers, Brooks got a steal, the rebound off Perry's miss and the follow-through at the rim. Two Cameron Dumas buckets sandwiched Hines free throws to make the score at the half 36-32.
It didn't start off well in the second half, as Fava claimed another triple off a Davis steal, but Garmendia squelched whatever momentum Loyola had gained with a three of his own, which started a key 12-3 run that included free throws and two Perry jumpers to go up 48-38. After trading points and a Smith offensive board and bucket, a Garmendia three ensued with 13:33 left in the game. A fast break following a miss led to a Perry left-handed jam to give the Eagles their largest lead until the closing minutes at 59-44. After a 7-3 Loyola run, it was Hill's turn to make a big play by sinking a three following a Wrightsil charge. After another brief Wolf Pack run of 9-4 to make the scoreline 69-60, Hill took the lead back to double digits with a one-hander with the shot clock about to hit zero.
After a Fava miss, the visitors' sixth in seven attempts, Perry got out of a jam around midcourt and passed to Hill, who fed it back to Perry on the drive. When Perry missed, Cleveland got the board and finish with a two-hand jam to put Faulkner up 73-60 with 5:19 remaining. About a minute after that, a rebound was up for grabs off a Loyola missed free throw. Hill came up with it on the deck in front of the opposing bench and was fouled. He had to be helped off his feet and leave the court before reentering just under a minute later. Brooks, sent to the line in his place, missed the second free throw but got the rebound. After passing around the arc, Garmendia drove into the paint and found Brooks for the play of the game, a monster one-hand slam that managed to outdo the crowd's reaction to Cleveland's slam. The Eagles now held an insurmountable 85-60 lead over the top-ranked team in the country with 3:56 remaining. When the Wolf Pack threatened to make a game of it by getting within 10, the Eagles sealed the upset with free throws that made a closing 11-2 run.
The win marks Faulkner's first over a No. 1 ranked team in program history. This comes one year after the Eagles came painfully close to accomplishing it for the first time in an 84-82 loss to Indiana Wesleyan, who, like Faulkner, had just three losses and one of those came in the Round of 16. The most recent matchup at home against a top-ranked opponent came in the 2015-16 season, a 101-81 setback against Pikeville in a contest the Eagles led at halftime 43-40. Now, finally, the team has finished the job, and it comes at a great time before Faulkner is set to embark on a crucial road stretch.
Faulkner, now at 15-3 overall, takes over the No. 2 spot in the conference standings behind only Talladega, who gave the Eagles their only SSAC loss to date, and will almost assuredly enter the Top 25. After the postponement of the return trip to Dalton State, the Eagles have none other than the return trip to Talladega next up this Saturday before going to Dalton, Ga., and Blue Mountain, Miss., next week. The next game at Tine Davis is January 29 in Stillman's return trip to Montgomery. Faulkner will go for another national stunner this week and try to avenge that loss against the third-ranked, 15-1 Tornadoes.
