NEW ORLEANS - Faulkner saw a late comeback bid fall just short Thursday night at Loyola as late free throws ballooned the final score from how close it actually ended up being as the Eagles dropped the SSAC opener 61-54.
With 1:08 to play, the Wolf Pack led by five, but Victor Muñoz cut it to a one possession game just eight seconds later.
T.J. Williams blocked Alex Hammond's shot on the ensuing possession and sparked
Jayden Cooper ahead whose bucket brought it to 55-54. Faulkner forced a crucial stop defensively to get the ball back for the last shot. However, Milan Mejia, one of the two remaining members of Loyola's national title team, got a steal and a score to seal the game with four seconds left. He went on to hit four technical free throws to end the game.
The Big Easy was not kind to the deep ball Thursday night as the teams combined to hit just six of the 48 three point attempts for a 12.5 percentage. The Eagles went 0-18 from deep, marking the first time since Nov. 23, 2019 against Martin Methodist and the second time in the
Scott Sanderson era that Faulkner, who had hit double-digit threes in each of their games this season, had gone scoreless from behind the arc.
Despite the triples not falling, the inside game was working for the Eagles and kept them right in the mix in a gym that has been traditionally a very challenging place for Faulkner, winning just two of the last 14 away games.
T.J. Williams fueled the first half with 10 points and eight boards en route to his first double-double of his Faulkner career, ending the night with 11 points and 12 boards. Muñoz added 10 points. Cooper led the team with 14 and
Jonathan Garcia added 10.
The Eagles travel Saturday to take on Mobile who's currently ranked No. 16 nationally.
