By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – For the William Carey men, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.
The Crusaders gave it their best, but they weren’t able to pull off an upset over defending NAIA national champion Loyola-New Orleans, dropping a 79-63 decision Thursday night in Southern States Athletic Conference action at Clinton Gymnasium.
The Wolfpack, ranked No. 15 in this week’s NAIA coaches poll, remained in first place in the SSAC standings at 12-1 (17-3 overall). Carey saw its record fall to 7-14 and 3-10.
“We were unorganized at times, and we had some untimely turnovers,” said Carey head coach Steve Knight. “Our focus wasn’t where it needed to be. Loyola is very well-coached and they get after you on defense.
The Crusaders had the better of play for most of the first half, building a six-point lead, 24-18, with 6:17 to play.
Senior Willie Moody had a 3-pointer early, then sophomore Emile Kazaneza capped an 8-0 run with a layup to put the Crusaders ahead. Junior Josiah Moore hit a 3-ball and junior Earl Smith made it 24-18 with a jump shot.
“They got a lot of offensive rebounds, a lot of second chances,” said Moody, who had 11 points for the Crusaders. “And we turned the ball over nine times in the first half. That was definitely a problem for us.”
WCU still led 26-21 at the six-minute media time out after hitting 11 of 16 shots from the field up to that point in the game.
But that’s when the wheels started to fall off for Carey.
Loyola outscored Carey 13-2 over the final five-plus minutes of the half, as the Crusaders missed their last six shots from the field and were held scoreless for almost five and a half minutes.
Wolfpack senior Jalen Galloway hit a short jump shot, senior Michael Harden hit another short jumper, then took a steal all the way for an uncontested layup to put Loyola ahead for good.
“(Galloway) is a real standout player,” said sophomore John Rawls. “We had this one circled on our calendar for a while, but he was able to get most of what he wanted. He had a real good game.
“You’ve got to play your best game against them. You’ve got bring it when they come into the gym.”
Loyola led 34-28 at halftime and quickly extended its margin to 10 early in the second half, before Carey rallied. Moody hit a pair of treys to keep the Crusaders afloat, but the Wolfpack matched them with treys of their own.
But Rawls capped an 8-2 run with a putback layup to pull WCU within four, 48-44. Rawls, a burly 6-foot-8 post, led the Crusaders with 13 points off the bench.
“I felt like I got to my spots pretty good,” said Rawls. “When I get position down in the post there’s nobody who can move me. So I was able to get to my spots and get what I wanted.”
However, sophomore Leonard Jackson hit a 3-point shot to key a 9-2 run that put Loyola ahead 57-46 with 11:21 to play.
Back came Carey with a 7-0 run to once again close the deficit to four points, 57-53 with 9:10 to play. Moore, who finished with 10 points off the bench for Carey, hit a 3-ball, then got a fast-break layup off a turnover.
“Coach Knight just told us (at halftime) to just keep going,” said Moody. “It all starts on the defensive end, and we need a lot of energy from start to finish. We took advantage of some defensive rebounds, got in transition and made some shots.”
Four points, however, was as close as the Crusaders would come as the Wolfpack outscored Carey 22-10 down the stretch.
“We got it to four with under 10 minutes to play, then on an inbounds pay, we lose a guy wide-open so we’re not matched up,” said Knight. “We’re not alert, and they knock down a three to push it back out to seven and they pulled away.
“They’re a smart team; they know how to play well together. We just had some situations where we were just disorganized for some reason, and we’ve haven’t been that way the past few games.”
Harden ignited a decisive 13-4 rally with a 3-point shot to lead 72-59, and the Wolfpack coasted from there. Galloway had 20 points to lead all scorers and Harden added 17 points for Loyola.
“I don’t think we played with the effort we needed tonight,” said Knight. “I thought we played tentative, and they made plays. Every time we got the lead, or got close, they made the plays.
“Moody hit some shots, but Earl Smith didn’t have his best game, and (senior) Casey Smith did not play like he’s been playing lately. We didn’t have everybody on the top of their game, and that’s what it would have taken for us to beat them.”
Carey will be on the road for its next game, Saturday at Blue Mountain.
